


Wings of Light

by ShadowMeowth



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-10 02:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 129,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2008302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMeowth/pseuds/ShadowMeowth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He is an angel, servant of God, tasked with the holy mission of watching over Nova Chrysalia. He has been doing so for centuries, since it is the only purpose for his existence. Until one day, his imperturbable gaze is caught by the image of a rose-haired young human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. | Prologue | Angel

Watching over the world.

That was his job. The only reason for his existence.

The angel was sitting cross-legged on the white floor, his huge feathery wings folded covering his back. His only attire were pieces of purple silk that covered the lower part of his body and were wrapped around part of his arms and ankles.

In front of him a translucent sphere floated, surrounded by veils of golden magic. It showed images of the world of the surface, one after another. The angel could choose the images he wanted to see, but he hardly ever did so. He just let them go on and observed them with little interest, his aqua-green eyes slightly unfocused after centuries of not looking away from the sphere.

The truth was he didn’t care. He was an angel, a divine creature. Servant of God, the almighty Bhunivelze. As his servant, he had no emotions. Ever since he could remember, he had been there, in the threshold of his master’s realm, guarding the gate and watching over Nova Chrysalia from the Ark, the moon of the world.

He could see his reflection on the surface of the sphere. The angel looked like a young man in his middle twenties, lean and slender. He had extremely pale skin, which combined perfectly with his disheveled, thick silver hair that fell straight covering his neck. He observed his features, soft and strong at the same time. He ran a finger along the zigzagging scar over his left eye: it was his brand of servitude, marking him as a divine servant of God.

There were humans on the surface that said they served Bhunivelze, but the angel thought their efforts were in vain. God has more important things to do than attend to their demands. The stability of the Universe depended on him, and the whims of the human hearts were but fleeting, selfish prayers.

This is why the angel was there. He watched over what happened in the world, and his job was to alert Bhunivelze if the order of nature were to lose control. And he also had to monitor humans, in case their dangerous free will triggered a catastrophe.

During the long centuries he had been serving God, the angel had seen more than one disaster originated by the chaotic hearts of mankind. What they called ‘emotions’ was but a curse to his eyes. A burden that destroyed both them and the world his master was trying to protect.

 _ _“_ Humans are weak _”__ , the angel thought. _“_ _They succumb to the darkness rooted in their very nature. They are unable to embrace the light and reach pure bliss. _”__

Whenever he watched humans live their ephemeral lives, that thought haunted his mind. It was the duty of God to protect all life, and therefore it was his as well. But humans destroyed more than create. He couldn’t say he liked them much.

However, this time, his eternal routine was turned upside down in a moment as fleeting as human lives were.

While observing the random images the magic sphere showed him, one of them made the apathetic gaze of the angel acquire a shine that never before his eyes had shown. He sat like a spring, unfolding his wings, and bent to look better at that brief image.

He hadn’t had time to look at her properly. He only got a glimpse of spiky, wavy rose-colored hair and a pair of icy-blue eyes that had left him breathless.

For the first time in centuries, the angel used his power to make the sphere show him again that young woman, who looked humble and proud at the same time, as beautiful and mysterious as a goddess incarnate in a fragile human body.

The angel reached out to the sphere out of instinct, perhaps trying to touch the woman, to get to her. For some reason, he was so fascinated that he wasn’t even aware that he _was_.

He was an angel, a divine being. Servants of God couldn’t feel emotions.

But, unexplainably, he felt hopelessly drawn towards the image of that young woman. His green eyes were staring at her, fed by an almost feverish spark.

It had been centuries since the last time a thought pounded his mind that way. But while staring at that image, he could only think of a question, and how desperately he needed the answer.

__“_ Who are you? _”__


	2. God

The days went by. Almost a month, in fact. The angel wasn’t used to tell time in days, not even months or years. Those were concepts too fleeting for a being who had to witness the course of whole centuries.

But during that month he had hardly done anything but look at the image of that rose-haired young woman of icy eyes. He watched her over and over, his eyes bright and his breath caught. He didn’t know who she was, or where she was going, or where she lived. All he knew was he couldn’t stop looking at her.

At first he just wanted to observe her, and so satisfy his curiosity –which ended up developing into need– about her. But, obviously, the magic sphere only showed him images that were almost impossible to decipher without the context of words.

Over the past two weeks he had begun to consider the possibility to meet her in person. It was a thought that scared him greatly at first: he would be disobeying the direct orders from God to stay in the Ark. However, the idea had only become more and more urgent.

He felt confused; his until that moment impartial objectivity had turned upside down. He was supposed to watch over all of humanity, not being so obsessed with a single human.

In the end, he made a decision. If his job was to watch over the world and that circumstance wouldn’t let him, perhaps he should fix it to move on and leave behind the image of the young woman.

The angel took a deep breath before crossing the threshold to Cosmogenesis, Bhunivelze’s realm. It had been a long time since the last time he had been in his master’s presence. Whenever he had, it was because God had wanted to. He had never gone there willingly before.

He closed his eyes and went through the gate. He felt how the light enveloped him, and when he opened them again, he found himself in a strange dark place, on a winding path made of huge tiles in the shape of suns and moons, topped by a gigantic golden crest against which the shadowy figure of God, shrouded in darkness as if he were the sun in an eclipse, stood, his two pairs of wings spread and majestic.

The angel walked slowly toward the god. He tried to pretend his usual calm and impassivity, but the truth was he felt nervous. He wondered if Bhunivelze knew, being almighty and omniscient as he was.

He knelt in front of God while folding his wings as the protocol required when bowing to his master.

“Master”, the angel murmured, lowering his head in submission.

_Why have you come, my servant?_ , an imperious voice resounded in the depths of his very essence. They weren’t words as such, but sensations that formed concepts. Bhunivelze couldn’t speak, but like all divine beings, he could communicate concepts directly with the core of all living things, which were translated into coherent sentences in the process.

He bit his lip in his uncertainty. Bhunivelze never moved nor he could see how he looked behind the cloak of darkness that surrounded him, but he felt that God was intrigued by his unexpected visit. And maybe, he was even somewhat annoyed.

“I am sorry to bother you, master. I have come to make you a humble request.”

Bhunivelze took a long time to answer. The angel knew that if anything he would’ve expected him to bring troubling news from Nova Chrysalia, but never a request on his part. He himself was aware of how grave his daring was.

But despite this, he had to. He was willing to beg his master for letting him know that young woman in person.

_A request?_ , God repeated. There was a tinge of irritation in his voice, as the angel had feared. _What kind of request?_

The angel frowned, not looking up. He couldn’t tell him his true motivation, of course. He hadn’t admitted it yet to himself, he knew too well it was inconceivable. So he sought a more objective reason that could convince God.

“My job is to watch over humans”, he replied warily. “To notice when and how they can endanger the world you protect. But if I don’t know how they think and feel, I cannot anticipate the disasters their whims could cause.”

Bhunivelze said nothing. The angel guessed he was weighing his words.

“Being my purpose to serve you with the greatest perfection, maybe I could learn more about humanity if I descended to the surface of Nova Chrysalia, master. I could observe firsthand how they think, how they act, how they feel–”

_No,_ Bhunivelze’s voice cut him off. The angel winced: the hardness of his tone caught him by surprise. _God cannot give his approval to such request._

He took a moment to recover from the shock. He had never before sensed so much annoyance from God. In other circumstances, having gotten such a flat refusal, he would have admitted his answer without a single reply and he would have silently left.

But something inside him rebelled when he took in that answer meant he would never meet the young rose-haired human.

“I beg you to forgive my boldness, master…”, the angel said, choosing his words carefully. “Why not? My sole purpose is to take care of the world, and without knowing the true nature of humans, I cannot perform my task with optimal efficiency–”

_I understand you reasons, my servant_ , Bhunivelze spoke sternly, interrupting him again. _But God cannot grant you what you demand. You cannot walk among humans. Such circumstance would cause your downfall._

The angel repressed the urge to look up at the dark figure of God. His downfall? He knew humans weren’t legit, but he was a divine being, and as such he was above them.

_In human nature darkness dwells. It makes them become chaotic, violent and unpredictable. They are dangerous even to themselves. They are chained to the whims of such darkness. We are creatures of pure, radiant, divine light, and as such we cannot walk among them, for that fact would cause us to lose the freedom we cherish._

Bhunivelze paused and the angel squinted dubiously. He knew his master had great reasons to forbidding him to leave, but still…

_Your duty is to watch over humans while staying away from them._ As if he wanted to settle the question, God spoke with particular severity. _You are an angel, a being of pure light, free from all stain, I arranged it thus. You must not expose yourself to the darkness of human hearts. Within the Ark you are safe from their selfish desires. If you want to serve God well, you shall remain pure and radiant, and such gift would be robbed from you if you merge with humans._

The angel pursed his lips. He wanted to reply, but he didn’t know how. He had never replied to his master before, and he didn’t quite understand why he felt the need to do so.

But then he remembered the blue eyes of the young woman, and something inside him wanted to rebel against God’s prohibition.

“But, master–”

_Enough._ That was a direct order, and in that moment the scar covering his left eye burned like a red-hot iron against his skin. The angel stifled a gasp and ruffled the feathers of his wings briefly before folding them submissively: the reminder that he was a servant of God, and that he wasn’t allowed to retort. _God has already answered your request. This audience is over. Now return to the Ark and continue your transcendent duties as you are commanded to do._

The angel, who had taken a hand to the scar, couldn’t reply. An intense golden light emanated from Bhunivelze’s shadowy body, completely blinding him and draining his forces away. He felt as if he were driven by a strong wind.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor of the Ark, facing the magic sphere, his brand of servitude still giving him painful twinges.

He sat up slowly, using his wings for balance. He moved to the sphere, and reached for it to summon the image of the young woman. He stared at her for a long time, feeling insecure and fascinated at the same time.

He knew humans were dangerous. He had been watching them for centuries. And he knew how dangerous was to challenge the will of his master.

But now, as he spread his fingers cautiously toward the face of the woman, he decided to take the risk.

_“I want to find out for myself. I need to know who you are.”_


	3. Medium

Despite Bhunivelze’s refusal to his request of descending to Nova Chrysalia, the angel wasn’t going to give up so easily. He needed to get somehow to the young pink-haired woman. He had already assumed he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace if he didn’t.

The simple idea of disobeying the orders of his master made him really nervous. Since his meeting with God, his brand of servitude had been painfully stinging. He wasn’t sure if it was because he planned to disobey him or it was Bhunivelze’s way to warn him not to.

The angel walked around the magic sphere, lost in thought, his huge white wings gently beating the air. He observed the image of the woman as he thought how he could find a way to reach her… He had never left the Ark before, and therefore he had no idea about how he could descend. Or if he really needed it in the first way. All he wanted was to satisfy his curiosity about this woman.

 _ _“_ I need a link to someone on the surface in any case _”__ , the angel thought, weighing his options. _“_ _Someone who can guide me. _”__

That simple deduction gave him an idea. Perhaps it could work… It was crazy, but it might be his only chance.

In Nova Chrysalia, the highest authority was the Order of Salvation, a religious group that worshiped almighty Bhunivelze, whose head was the High Priestess. They had been leading the destiny of its people for long centuries in the name of God from the capital of the world.

Although they said they knew what Bhunivelze wanted, the truth is that only one person could transmit his will: the medium of the Order, who everyone knew as the holy saint.

Throughout the centuries there had been many mediums. The angel was the one who had contacted them all to tell them the will of God. The current holy saint was a human girl whose name was Vanille Dia.

The angel sighed. He didn’t like having to pin his hopes on a human, but he had no choice. If he didn’t, perhaps he could never know who was the woman who captivated him in that way.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, and spread his wings. He guided his mind to the surface, looking for Vanille Dia’s consciousness. It took a long time for the connection to work both ways; things like that reassured him in his opinion about the boundaries of human minds.

“Sacred one”, the angel murmured once he was sure the medium was listening.

 _ _‘_ My most humble greetings, messenger of God _’__ , the telepathic voice of young Vanille spoke. __‘__ _Please tell me which divine message you want me to convey to the Order. _’__

“…”, the angel hesitated. He didn’t know if he should tell her that wasn’t exactly a message from Bhunivelze. “I am not bringing a message this time, sacred one. Certain information the Order can provide is required.”

Vanille took a while to answer. The angel guessed she was surprised at his words. He had never done before a request to a medium.

 _ _‘_ The will of God is our command _ _’___ , she finally said.  __‘__ _Which is the information he needs? _ _’___

“There is a woman who lives near your great capital”, the angel said once he mustered the courage to take the plunge. “She has rose-colored hair and blue eyes. The information required… is about this girl. Everything you can provide.”

 _ _‘_ A young rose-haired, blue-eyed woman… _ _ _’____ , the holy saint repeated, though she sounded hesitant. __‘__ _As you wish, messenger of God. I will contact you once we have the information you require. _ _ _’____

“I will wait for your answer”, the angel said, and with these words he cut the communication.

He stretched, straightening his wings. His brand of servitude stung more than before, a silent warning from his master.

But there was no turning back. He had made a decision, the first one in his long existence. And despite his uncertainty, he was willing to walk this path until the end.

* * *

He didn’t have to wait long until Vanille Dia contacted him again. The angel spent those hours staring at the image of the woman, impatiently awaiting the news from the holy saint. And he felt a little scared about his own impatience.

Servants of God couldn’t feel emotions, and yet he was experiencing some sensations he wasn’t able to recognize since the very moment his eyes first met the icy ones of the woman.

 _ _‘_ Messenger of God _ _ _ _’_____ , Vanille said. __‘_ I have your requested information about this woman. _ _ _ _’_____

“You may speak”, the angel replied, trying to hide the anticipation in his voice.

__‘_ There are two rose-haired women with blue eyes that match your description. They are sisters, and they live on the outskirts of the capital. One of them has a fiancée. I cannot give you more information, because it is part of the discretion policy of the Order. _ _ _ _’_____

The angel winced when he heard that one of the two sisters was engaged. Could that one be the woman he had spent so much time observing? He felt a twinge of pain, and the consequent fear that overcame him whenever he experienced a new sensation.

“You don’t know anything more about them, sacred one?”

__‘_ This information is confidential, messenger of God. Even if I wanted to tell you, I am not allowed to without the consent of the High Priestess. _ _ _ _’_____

The angel frowned. The High Priestess of the Order was the highest authority among the human followers of Bhunivelze. If he required her help, he would be lying about God’s will. It wasn’t the same not telling the whole truth to the medium and outright lying to the High Priestess.

 _ _‘_ Is there anything else I must do, messenger of God? _ _ _ _’_____ , Vanille’s voice interrupted his train of thought. Frustrated, the angel almost told her it wasn’t. But then he had an idea. A crazy, mad idea.

Vanille Dia was a medium, a spiritual guide. He had come to her at first with the intention of finding out everything he could about the young woman, and perhaps then he could leave behind his growing curiosity. So he wouldn’t have to turn against his master’s will.

But now he had all the information the Order allowed him to gather without crossing the line. And his curiosity was far from satisfied.

He bit his lower lip. Was it worth disobeying Bhunivelze’s orders just for a human woman he didn’t even know?

Then he remembered her blue eyes, her strong though fragile demeanor, and he had no choice but admit he wouldn’t rest until he found out who she was.

“Sacred one”, the angel murmured, after taking a deep breath. “There is actually something I want to ask you, if you are able to do it.”

She gave off a brief feeling of surprise.

__‘_ What is it? _ _ _ _’_____

“You are a medium. You can guide spirits to different realms”, the angel made a pause, unsure, before going on. “I would ask you if you could guide me… into the mortal realm.”

Vanille was slow to react, but the angel felt her astonishment. It was obvious she didn’t expect at all his request.

__‘_ You want me to guide you, messenger of God? _ _ _ _’_____

“Yes. There is something I must do on your realm… and I think you are the only one able to do this, sacred one.”

 _ _‘_ But… _ _ _ _’_____ , Vanille’s voice sounded unsure. _‘_ _Messenger of God, it would be a great honor for me, but I have never before performed a transition for a divine being. Are you really sure I could do it? _ _ _ _’_____

The angel frowned, hesitantly. Vanille was right, a transition for spirits was different from one for beings like him. But she was the only one who had a chance to carry it out.

“Only you can do this, sacred one”, his voice briefly sounded as if he was pleading. “Please try it.”

Vanille hesitated, but perhaps the need in the angel’s voice made her decide.

__‘_ As you wish… Please focus on the place you want to transcend, and open your mind to mine. I am tending a bridge to you. _ _ _ _’_____

The angel obeyed. He spread his wings while putting down the walls of his consciousness, allowing the mind of the holy saint to delve into his and form a connection between both realms.

 _ _“_ The home of the woman _”__ , the angel thought with all his might when he began to feel Vanille’s mind pulling his. _“_ _Wherever she is, I must descend there. _”__

But something was wrong. He felt the holy saint’s consciousness pulling stronger each time, but it was as if something blocked his transition. Suddenly, his brand of servitude started to burn, forcing him to suppress a cry of pain. The angel remembered he couldn’t leave the Ark, and maybe it wasn’t just an order, but some kind of magic ban.

 _ _“_ No! I cannot turn back now _”__ , the angel tried desperately to cling to the link Vanille had stretched between both realms. He struggled with all his might against the blockade, trying to shatter it. _“_ _I have to meet her. I need to know who she is. I have to_ – _”_

It was as if an explosion of light broke out behind his eyelids. The intense pain of his scar became unbearable, and then he felt as if his back was torn up, as if his very flesh was ripped away.

The angel couldn’t help it. He let out a scream.

And then everything went dark.


	4. Outsider

Darkness. Cold. Pain.

In the recent weeks, the angel had felt many unfamiliar sensations. But he had never before experienced such _physical_ ones.

He couldn’t see anything, darkness surrounded him, so suffocating. It was as if his eyes were failing him, maybe he even had no strength left to open them and he didn’t know, or he really was lost in the deepest void.

He felt his skin getting increasingly wet, his hair sticking to his forehead and neck because of this. He felt the coldness of the hard, rough ground beneath him. The whipping wind chilling his whole being.

But above all this, he felt pain. His brand of servitude burned as it had never before, but this paled in comparison to the horrible pain in his back. It was completely numb, he couldn’t feel it. When he tried to beat his wings, the muscles didn’t respond. Just trying to flex them caused him indescribable pain. As if his skin was tearing up. But he hadn’t any strength left to cry out.

The angel’s consciousness was fading, struck by pain, cold and darkness. For the first time in his life, he felt panic. He tried to cling to life, but his survival instinct had never before felt the urge to kick in. Now, he didn’t know what to do.

He was lost, alone and confused. He couldn’t move. He could only stay there, lying on the ground, and pray for a miracle.

For something that would bring light back to him.

* * *

 “What a storm!”, young Serah commented, looking out the window from the couch. “Luckily for us, we all came home before it started.”

“And even if had started while we were coming back home, you wouldn’t have had to fear anything. Under my coat there’s room for both”, Snow said giving her a wink. Serah giggled, and she snuggled against him.

Lightning sighed, rolling her eyes and looking away from her sister and her fiancée. They were engaged for about a year, but she still didn’t quite assume it, much less feeling sure about Snow Villiers being the perfect future husband for her dear little sister.

She shook her head. She knew she wasn’t being entirely fair: Snow was a good man, and he also had a nice position in society, being one of the Patrons that ruled the city of Yusnaan. He had all means to take good care of Serah and ensuring her a life without issues, and she also knew he loved her dearly. But his somewhat absurd optimism greatly annoyed her.

It wasn’t the only thing about Snow that got her on her nerves, though. There were more reasons, but the main one was that she didn’t want to let her sister go. She was her only family, and once she got married she would be alone. She couldn’t help but inwardly curse Snow for taking her sister away from her.

The brutal rumble of a thunder interrupted her thoughts, and it was immediately followed by an intense flash that lasted for several seconds before fading away. Serah cried out, Snow almost fell of the couch, and Lightning, startled, straightened wishing she had her sword in hand.

“Was that… a lightning bolt?”, Serah muttered, still scared, after long moments of silence.

“Seems so…”, Snow whistled. “But dammit, if it wasn’t a hell of one.”

“Cut the crap”, Lightning snapped at him, still on alert. “Do you really think that was a normal lightning bolt, Snow?”

Snow gave her a questioning look, and he shrugged.

“Well, sis, what else could it be?”

“I’m not your sister”, Lightning replied, annoyed. Serah chuckled, but she said nothing. She was well aware her older sister didn’t like her fiancée too much.

Lightning went to the door, her body in tension. That flash could’ve perfectly been a lightning, and a very strong one judging by the sound that had caused. Who knew if it could have brought down any tree near their home. Maybe it was nothing, but her instinct urged her to check it out.

“Lightning!”, Serah called her from behind Snow. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to check everything’s alright”, she soothed her with a wave of her hand. “Just give me a second.”

“You’re gonna get drenched”, Snow warned somewhat jokingly. Lightning ignored him and kept walking toward the door. She opened it cautiously, peering into the doorway. It was raining heavily and she’d rather not get dripping wet and therefore make Snow right.

She looked right and left, frowning. It was night-time and she couldn’t see much, but it seemed nothing was wrong. She nodded to herself, relieved, and proceeded to get into the house again.

That’s when another lightning bolt lit up the sky and the surroundings for a second. And Lightning saw it for a brief moment, and her heart skipped a beat.

She hadn’t got to identify what it was, but she had seen a dark shape lying on the stone floor, about fifteen feet from the door. A human-looking shape.

Alarmed, Lightning hesitated before running toward it. She almost immediately got completely soaked, but she didn’t care. She had to be sure of what she had just seen.

When she reached its side, she’d have rather not ever known.

There was a young man on his middle-twenties at her feet, lying face down, whose silver hair fell in dirty, soaked bangs over his forehead and stuck to his neck. He was very lean and his skin was so pale Lightning feared he was dead before she noticed he still breathed. Something that looked like mud-stained purple silk covered the lower part of his body and stripes of it wrapped his arms and ankles.

But the most terrible of all this were the two horrifying wounds the young man bore between his shoulder blades. They were bleeding profusely, covering his back in scarlet and staining with red the puddles around him. As she knelt beside him to check how bad they were, Lightning felt sick with horror. Those wounds weren’t normal: it was as if someone mercilessly ripped his flesh away, exposing the muscular fibers.

 _“I have to do something right now”_ , Lightning looked up in horror, instinctively looking around for help. But at that late hour and under such a storm, the streets were empty.

“Lightning!”, she heard Serah shouting behind her; the young woman turned her head and saw her and Snow leaning out the door looking concerned. “What are you doing?”

“I need help!”, Lightning replied, her voice tinged with urgency. “Snow, come here! Hurry!”

Snow frowned, puzzled, but Lightning’s tone brooked no argument. He briefly patted Serah’s shoulder before running toward her older sister. When he reached her and saw the injured young man, he gasped, his face showing the same horrified expression that had swallowed Lightning the first time she saw his wounds.

“What the hell…?!”, he immediately kneeled to examine him closely. “Please don’t tell me he’s…!”

“He’s alive, but he’s barely breathing, and he’s losing a lot of blood”, Lightning cut him, regaining her practical mind after overcoming the shock. “Help me get him inside, Snow. We have to stop the bleeding.”

“You sure we should move him?”, Snow couldn’t keep his eyes away from the terrible wounds of the young man. “Have you seen how battered he is?”

“Either that, or we leave him here under the rain and bleeding out, what do you think it’s worse?”, she sharply replied. Snow ran a hand through his hair and nodded after a second.

Lightning helped Snow to carefully lift the limp body of the young man to prevent any trouble. He was much lighter than they had thought, and stout Snow had no problem to carry him inside the house, closely followed by Lightning.

Serah, who was waiting at the door, let out a horrified cry when she first saw the pale and bloodied young man in Snow’s arms.

“For the love of all that’s good”, her voice seemed to choke when she laid her eyes on his wounds. “How…”

“Save it for later”, Lightning closed the door behind her, and ran upstairs. “Snow, take him into my room; Serah, try to heal those wounds with your magic as much as you can. I’ll get the bandages and some disinfectant.”

Serah nodded, trembling and teary-eyed, and she followed Snow down the hallway towards the stairs to the upper floor. As she went upstairs to the bathroom from the other staircase, Lightning couldn’t help but think about that strange young man. What would have happened to him to end up that brutally wounded? Why was he there, in front of their house?

She didn’t remember ever seeing him around the district. And judging by his looks, it was clear as water he wasn’t from the surroundings, not even from the capital.

Lightning brushed the soaked bangs of rose-colored hair away from her icy-blue eyes, and shook her head to cast those questions that were forming in her mind aside. There would be time later to ask them to the young outsider himself.

 _“And for that”_ , the young woman thought while taking some thick bandages from the drawers of the bathroom and rushing down the stairs, _“we have to ensure that you’ll be able to answer us later.”_


	5. Friend

“Your face’s screaming you haven’t got enough sleep, sunshine”, Fang commented when she noticed the dark circles around Lightning’s eyes. “And it’s been for three days now. May I know what have you been up to?”

Lightning sighed, exhausted. Stress and tension began to appear in her face after what happened the stormy night of three days ago.

“You don’t want to know”, she muttered, leaning against the wall. “It’s sheer madness.”

“Well, it’s obvious enough you need a shoulder to cry on, don’t ya?”

“I don’t cry”, Lightning replied getting a bit defensive. Fang laughed, as she did whenever the young woman tried to put on the tough façade. She always had tried to look much stronger and colder than she actually was. Even though Lightning had never given anyone any proof of her inner feelings, Fang was sure she was right about her theories.

“C’mon, spit it out. It’s that jerk of a fiancée your sister has, right? What’s he done this time?, besides gettin' her on a free ride on bed, of course.”

“It has nothing to do with Snow. Which it’s actually news”, Lightning frowned, and she grimaced in disgust. “And please, Fang, stop saying stuff like that about my sister, would you?”

Fang shrugged, as if to say, ‘it is what it is’.

“Then I’m lost, sunshine. I can’t think of any other thing that could give Miss Stoic Lightning these headaches and swollen eyes.”

Lightning growled, thrusting her sword into the ground absently. She didn’t know if telling Fang about it, but she was her only true friend after all, and perhaps she was right and she needed to vent it.

“You’re gonna have a hard time to believe it.”

“Talk first, then I’ll decide if I believe ya, girl.”

* * *

“How is he?”, Lightning had asked after running down the stairs from the bathroom and entering hastily in her bedroom with the bandages in her hands.

Serah and Snow had laid the young man on her bed, face down. Snow watched in dismay his tearful fiancée, whose hands, barely touching the brutal wounds on the bare back of the outsider, gave off a soft bluish glow.

“He’s still alive”, Snow replied, shaking his head, “but I’m not sure he’s gonna live through this. At least, it seems that Serah has managed to stop the bleeding a bit…”

Lightning went to her sister, worried. Serah was the best medic of the three, and it certainly seemed her Cure spells were working. But the wounds were still bleeding.

“We have to bandage his back as soon as possible”, the young woman put a hand on Serah’s shoulder. “Keep trying to heal him while Snow and I bandage him, Serah.”

“I’ll do my best”, she said as she nodded, her voice breaking. Snow came closer to them, he sat on the edge of the bed and lifted as carefully as he could the limp body of the young man for Lightning to bandage his torso.

 _“He’s so cold”_ , she thought wrinkling her nose as her fingers brushed against his pale skin. _“It’s almost as if he had no blood in his veins.”_

Although the thought wasn’t exactly wrong considering his situation, Lightning knew what she meant. It was strange, that highly low body temperature. She would’ve said it wasn’t _human_.

She covered with tight bandages the young man’s torso, so that the pressure prevented as much as possible the bleeding. When she finally finished, Snow laid him again on the bed and Serah lowered her hands, exhausted.

“Do you think he’ll be fine?”, she asked, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. She had always been very affected by watching other people suffer.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to take care of him”, Lightning replied, crossing her arms. The thought didn’t please her very much. Taking care of Serah was one thing, but of an outsider?

 _“So far he has managed to get my bed”_ , she thought, and she repressed an annoyed snort.

“We can take turns to look after him”, Snow suggested scratching his neck. “I can take care of him tonight, okay?”

“No”, Lightning cut him. “You’re leaving to Yusnaan tomorrow morning, and this is my bedroom and you’re not going to stay here. And Serah, you’ve already done too much for today. I’ll do this by myself.”

“But Lightning, you have to get up early tomorrow too”, Serah protested. Lightning shook her head.

“I’ll survive.”

And yes, she had survived. But she almost hadn’t sleep for three nights, sleeping on the couch in her bedroom, while the young outsider laid convalescing in her bed, still unconscious.

* * *

“Let’s see if I got this”, Fang leaned on her spear, frowning. “You found a guy about to kiss his life goodbye lyin' on the ground in front of your house under that flood the other day?”

“Yeah, you got it”, Lightning stifled a yawn, her tone a bit ironic.

Fang whistled, shaking her head. She ran a hand through her messy black hair, processing the startling news.

“And he’s been unconscious all that time? He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything, and he’s still alive?”

“Seems so. He’s so skinny, and he looks as if he’s never been under the sunlight”, Lightning said. She was intrigued by this: she would’ve never thought the young man would have the stamina to survive those wounds without eating or drinking anything, and yet he hadn’t got worse. “Serah heals him every time she comes home for a while, but that didn’t explain how the hell he’s not a corpse by now.”

A scathing laughter erupted from Fang’s throat. The young dragoon looked quite intrigued about the story Lightning was telling her.

“Indeed I’d have to see it to believe this. ‘Cause, ya see, judgin' by what’re you telling me, I’m about to think this kid isn’t human.”

“That doesn’t make any sense”, Lightning frowned. “Sure, he’s so weird, but he looks human to me. I mean, he doesn’t look like a monster.”

“Weirder things have happened. And I tell ya, I’m an expert on supernatural stuff.”

Lightning looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“You? You’re one of those people that when something unusual happens stab first and then ask.”

“I do, but it comes with being close with Vanille. I’ve swallowed a lot of spirit stories and crap like that twice as weird as the one you’re tellin' me now”, Fang shrugged.

“Oh, right…”, Lightning muttered, looking away. Because of Fang’s personal circumstances, it was hard for her to choose the appropriate words whenever Vanille was mentioned. “How is she doing? It’s been a long time since the last time you told me about her.”

“Well, she’s the same as always. Locked away in the Cathedral and with no company but her spirits and I, when they let me see her”, Fang snorted, clearly irritated, and let out a brief laugh. “The Order will end up making her lose her mind with all that God’s will nonsense. She was hysterical two days ago, ya see.”

“How so?”

“You should have seen her! She said the angel messenger of God that commands his will to the mediums asked her to guide him in a spiritual transition or something like that to come to our realm. And according to her, somethin' went really bad. In other words, she thinks she’s killed the very angel of Bhunivelze”, Fang laughed again, with a hint of exasperation. “What to hear! Though who knows, maybe it’s true she killed him and made a favor to us all”, she added, winking at Lightning.

“I agree”, the young woman said. Her voice became a bit cold. “But I don’t think we’ll ever be that lucky.”

“Neither do I, sadly for us. Well”, Fang put her spear on her shoulder and stepped away from the wall, “it’s getting late and your shift is over. I’m gonna try to beg to those priests they let me meet Vanille tonight. And you better rest up, or tomorrow I’ll make you run around Luxerion a thousand times as a warm-up session.”

Lightning gave her a wry half-smile.

“Okay. Got it, Captain Yun.”

Fang patted her on her shoulder, and walked away towards the Cathedral. Lightning leaned against the wall a couple more minutes, thoughtfully, before she began to walk the way back home.

 _“And now I have to spend another night taking care of him”_ , she thought, annoyed, sheathing her sword.

The truth was that her chat with Fang relieved her stress. And it had been also good for her to share her doubts with her about the mysterious young man. She had no intention of letting Serah think she couldn’t bear the whole burden by herself.

As she walked, she thought about what Fang said about Vanille. It had to be awfully hard for her best friend to see how the Order was using her girlfriend to enact the laws they wanted in the name of God. Laws that were told to be communicated via the angel who served Bhunivelze.

It seemed that Vanille attempted to perform a transition for this angel, with dire consequences. Lightning chuckled.

_“The truth is that Fang’s right. Vanille would’ve done a great favor to all of us if she killed him.”_

And that’s when the two thoughts she had in mind at the moment crossed over, making her stop right on her tracks.

The angel servant of God who had asked the holy saint to help him descend into their realm. The dying young man that appeared in front of her house three days ago.

She remembered the two horrible wounds on the back of the young man. How their position was in perfect parallel, one on each shoulder blade.

When she realized what it meant, Lightning’s heart skipped a beat. Her face lost all trace of color in her shock.

_“It can’t be.”_

She recalled Fang’s words, about that the way she described him to her, he didn’t look human. And she remembered the surprisingly low temperature of his body, and all those strange quirks of his recovery.

The pieces fit perfectly, and yet the simple idea still seemed absolute madness to Lightning.

And besides her shock and disbelief, she felt boiling anger inside her.

_“The outsider who’s lying half-dead in my house… he’s the angel of God?”_


	6. Fallen

“An angel?”, Serah repeated, her eyes wide and her hands covering her mouth.

Lightning sharply nodded.

“But not just ‘an’ angel. He’s the angel of Bhunivelze!”, furious, she pointed her sword at the young man lying unconscious in her bed. “Do you realize what kind of creature we’ve been keeping in our house?”

“But, Lightning…”, Serah glanced hesitantly at the young man, both awed and fearful. “Are you… are you sure he is?”

“Everything makes sense, Serah. Each one of the damn pieces of the puzzle”, Lightning clutched the hilt of her sword, clenching her teeth, and raised it against him. “If I only had known… I would have left him bleeding out in the street with no doubt!”

“Sis!”, the voice of her sister was severe. She stepped between her sister and the young man, and Lightning looked at her with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. “Leave him alone!”

“So now you want to protect him? You know as well as I do how dangerous he is and how much harm he has caused us all!”

Serah frowned, but she briefly glanced at him. She looked doubtful.

“I know, more than anyone. But… you can’t kill him, Lightning.”

“Oh, can’t I?”, Lightning frowned. “Why not?”

Her sister looked up. Her blue eyes were bright with seriousness.

“Look at him. He’s half dead, and since he’s been here he hasn’t done anything against us. I refuse to kill a creature so badly injured.”

“He hasn’t done anything because he’s unconscious”, Lightning replied. “He’s nothing more than a servant of God, Serah. It goes against our principles to shelter a being like him in our house!”

“I don’t care”, Serah shook her head. “Do as you consider, sis, but I won’t raise my weapon against him unless I hear his side of the story. Taking away innocent lives without the chance of defend themselves would take me to the Order’s level. And you as well.”

Her sister’s words made Lightning hesitate. She had been more than willing to stab her sword into the young man’s heart, and actually it had been her intention once she got home. But Serah was right. Doing that would lower her to the Order’s level, and before that she’d rather have the angel of God as a host in her house… at least, for now.

“… Right”, Lightning sheathed her sword slowly, still glaring at the young man. “I won’t kill him, for now.”

Serah nodded and half-smiled. Lightning knew she was proud. She was a warrior and she was used instinctively to eliminate anything that could threaten her sister. But Serah insisted she also had to learn to listen, and not raising a wall around her heart in order to protect her.

“I’m not going to ask you to look after him”, Serah muttered. “I can do it myself. I know you don’t want to.”

Lightning squinted. No, she didn’t want to, of course not. Her? Taking care of the angel of God? The simple idea was disgusting. But if she didn’t, Serah would stay home and she couldn’t go to work. And Serah’s work was one of the things that would allow her to keep going forward… alive.

“No, I’ll do it. You must continue with your life”, the young woman replied, shaking her head. “You can’t ruin everything now that we’ve made progress.”

Serah looked down a bit sadly, and absently rubbed her left forearm. She said nothing, but Lightning knew she felt guilty for causing her trouble.

“Don’t even mention it”, she said, forcing a half-smile. “Nothing is more important than your recovery, Serah. If I have to take care of this damn angel, I will. But I’ll only do it for you.”

Serah smiled back, though somewhat sorrowfully.

“Thanks, sis… But, you know, it’s also nice to do good things for everyone else.”

* * *

_“I can’t believe I’m doing this”_ , Lightning thought later, as she changed the moist, bloodied bandages of the young man. She threw the old ones to the trash can and before casting a Cure spell on his wounds she cleaned them with a cloth soaked with disinfectant potions.

She took the chance to examine more closely those horrifying wounds. She didn’t know much about angels, and she wasn’t sure yet that young man was one of this mythic race. In popular tales, fal’Cie were sometimes called angels, even though they were minor deities. And fal’Cie looked anything but human.

But it was said some powerful fal’Cie could take on human forms. And it was said the fal’Cie goddess Etro, daughter of Bhunivelze, had feathered wings herself.

Lightning wondered if it was any difference between a fal’Cie in angel form and a true angel. The shapes fal’Cie took on were mere illusions, after all. They didn’t have wings, despite how real they might appear.

But every time she was more certain that those two wounds were all what remained from two brutally ripped off wings.

Despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel shivers just by thinking about it. No matter how much animosity she felt towards the angel of God, it was horrible to imagine who would be cruel enough to do such thing. One thing was killing him quickly, no suffering, just stabbing his heart; ripping his wings off and leaving him to his fate bleeding out to death was quite another.

Without wings, he certainly didn’t look like an angel. He rather seemed a thin, deathly pale human to her. Lightning wondered if he would really be an angel, even though everything pointed to it. Because he wasn’t half as magnificent as the Order made look the great holy messenger of Bhunivelze.

She sighed in frustration. Honestly, she couldn’t be sure of anything until the young man regained consciousness and was able to answer her questions. If it turned out he was the angel, she didn’t know what to do. She knew Serah wouldn’t let her kill him, at least not while he was convalescent.

But if he was wingless now, what would happen to him? Could he return… to the _heavens_ , or wherever he lived? Would God give back his wings to him?

_“Now that I think about it, if he’s his servant…”_ , she frowned, picking up the clean bandages. _“Shouldn’t Bhunivelze have done something? If he commanded him to descend to our realm and something went wrong or someone attacked him, wouldn’t he should have healed his servant?”_

The idea was… weird. Lightning shook her head, trying to push aside those thoughts from her mind. She didn’t want to sympathize with him, but she couldn’t help feeling a little sorry.

She carefully bandaged the young man’s torso, trying to not worsen the wounds that still bled despite three full days had passed, though thankfully much less abundantly. As a warrior, Lightning knew that kind of wound, which certainly would’ve seriously damaged muscle tissue, took a long time to heal completely.

That’s when she felt him moving. It was only a moment, but Lightning stopped her hands, startled. She was sure she hadn’t imagined it.

She stared at his pale face, looking for any sign that could indicate that he was indeed starting to react. It was a bit hard to do in the dimness, but then she noticed his eyelids slightly quivered.

“Ngh…”, that sound escaped, barely audible, from his lips. Lightning waited in tension, not sure about what she should do. And as weakly as a sigh, the young man managed to whisper, “… Who… are you…”

Surprised, Lightning looked up and found out his eyelids had parted, just a crack, which closed the next second.

“Hey…!”, the young woman got to say, maybe trying to wake up him. But he had already lost consciousness again, not before though whispering in his delirium, his voice tinged with fear and confusion:

“… My wings… I cannot…”

Those words left Lightning breathless. She wasn’t wrong. That young man was truly the angel of God.

She stared at him. On one hand she hated him furiously, but in the other one… he really was helpless, and she wasn’t able to raise her sword against him after hearing his voice so weak and confused.

_“Is he aware he’s lost his wings?”_ , she wondered. And she also wondered what would mean for an angel to lose his wings. He was like a bird with broken wings now. He had lost everything he was and had no place in that world.

Lightning didn’t want to pity him. But she had read fear in his eyes in that fleeting second.

She snorted and forced herself to finish bandaging his torso without thinking of anything else. He had managed to make her lose the will to kill him. But he had increased the will to get him away from her sight.

_“Damn fallen angel”_ , she thought in irritation, holding back the urge to punch him before lying on the small couch of her bedroom. _“You better wake up soon and go away before you make me lose even more stuff.”_


	7. Hope

_You have disobeyed my command, my servant._

Bhunivelze’s voice was his first true sensation in… how long? He couldn’t be sure. The last thing he remembered clearly was darkness, cold and pain.

_You descended to the mortal realm despite the will of God. But you are an angel and you cannot walk among them as such. Therefore the Ark removed your wings upon my order._

He panicked at hearing that. He lost his wings? Was that why he couldn’t beat them? If it was true, he was stuck to the ground, unable to fly free anymore.

_Your disobedience deserves a fair punishment. Your wings can grow back, but as your wounds heal, you shall walk among humans without being one of their kind, neither an angel._

He couldn’t help but tremble briefly. He wanted to talk, maybe beg to his master… but he couldn’t speak nor move.

_Your wounds shall take time to heal, thus is my will, so your punishment shall be appropriate. The darkness of humans shall show you why you must not walk among them. You shall not belong to them nor the divine. You shall be alone._

The voice of God was fading away, and the darkness became denser. He didn’t want it to engulf him. But he couldn’t move, he was chained down.

_Now, my servant, face the consequences of your disobedience._

* * *

“So… are you really an angel?”, Serah asked looking at the young man with fear and fascination. “And you lost your wings because you disobeyed God’s orders?”

He nodded making an effort. Several days had passed since the night in which he had reacted for the first time, and during them he had been regaining consciousness at times. Finally, the previous day he managed to stay awake for hours, and Lightning and Serah considered he was able at least to answer the questions they wanted to ask him for a long time.

That morning, God had spoken to him in a dream and told him his punishment. Seeing him shaking in dreams, Lightning had awakened him in a not too much gentle way. When she asked for an explanation, the young man had finally agreed to talk with the Farron sisters.

He answered their questions about who he was and how he got there. He didn’t tell them about what Bhunivelze had told him about his wings because they didn’t ask, and he didn’t thought they had to know. But he told them his current situation was due to the fact he disobeyed his command.

Not that he was very aware of the conversation itself. He was still assuming that he had lost his wings and he was trapped in the world of humans, those chaotic and violent beings.

At least he ended up where he wanted to, he thought as he shyly looked up at Lightning. Two days after his first reaction, he managed to regain consciousness for a few minutes and recognized her when she was cleaning his wounds. Despite his condition, he got so nervous and startled he tried to get away from her. Lightning tried to calm him down, something she managed by telling him her name, since he weakly asked her.

He met Serah the next day. Sure, she was a lot nicer to him than her sister. Lightning was who looked after him, but the angel felt her reluctance. He felt her negativity towards him, and he didn’t know why. And strangely enough, it affected him. He felt Serah’s fear, and yet he didn’t care about it as much as he did about Lightning’s animosity.

Of course, after all, he descended to the mortal realm trying to find out who she was, and it had cost him his wings and God’s punishment. And all this for her to hate him for some unknown reason.

“You’re Bhunivelze’s servant”, Lightning said curtly. Unlike Serah, she was leaning against the wall, a few steps away from them. “You expect us to believe you betrayed him?”

“I cannot lie to you”, he replied after taking a deep breath; he found so hard to say more than three words in a row, but at least he could now hold a conversation. “I am an angel… I am not allowed to lie.”

“But you’ve managed to lie to Bhunivelze.”

The angel frowned slightly. Lightning and Serah had already noticed he wasn’t precisely expressive. In fact, with his extremely pale skin and his lack of expression, he rather looked like a marble statue.

“I didn’t lie. I only acted on my own.”

Lightning didn’t look convinced, but she said nothing. She simply glared at him and shifted her weight from one leg to another.

“But what I don’t understand…”, Serah began hesitantly. “I mean, look at you. You didn’t know what would happen to you, right? Because you’ve paid a high price for descending without his permission. Why did you do it?”

The angel hesitated. He couldn’t answer that question, let alone when Lightning was there. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, and noticed her hard stare. If he dared to tell them, he was sure she would kill him. And besides, it wouldn’t benefit her at all to know.

As an angel, he couldn’t lie. But he could not tell them all the truth.

“… I wanted to better understand mankind”, he muttered. “My mission is to watch over all of your kind. But I cannot protect you without understanding how you think and feel.”

Lightning and Serah looked briefly at each other. The angel felt their bewilderment.

“Protect us?”, Lightning’s voice was so sharp that he momentarily flinched. “You’re the one who ruined our lives. You’re the one who tells the Order how they have to tyrannize us!”

“Sis!”, Serah said, warningly.

He took a deep breath, still a bit intimidated. He kept wondering why he reacted that way when it came to Lightning, because Serah hardly could get an… _emotional_ answer, perhaps?

“I am the servant of God… As such, I must obey him. I never questioned his will because I cannot… The only reason for my existence is to serve him. I am not allowed to agree or not.”

Lightning huffed dismissively, but Serah looked genuinely sad.

“That’s horrible… How could you bear it?”

“You are human”, the angel said as if that were enough explanation. “Your free will prevents you from understanding the peace of such a simple existence.”

“Tsk…”, Lightning glared at him. “An existence in which you’re bound and chained to the whims of your master? I think I understand now why the Order acts as they do. That’s the ideal of your god, isn’t it? To make us become creatures as pathetic as you?”

“Sis! That’s enough!”, Serah scolded her. The angel said nothing, but looked down upon hearing the young woman’s harsh words. “It’s not his fault to be what he is!”

“Is it not, now? Angel or not, he could’ve left Bhunivelze if he wanted to!”

“I cannot rebel against him”, the angel said then. “Unlike you humans, I have no free will… His will is my will.”

“And yet…”, Serah noted, “you disobeyed him when you descended to our realm.”

Lightning squinted at him questioningly, and the angel was silent for a long moment, processing what Serah had just said.

“Yes”, he finally said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “I did.”

“How is that even possible?”, Lightning said. “If you can’t make your own decisions, how could you rebel against his orders?”

“… I don’t know”, he answered, absolutely sincere, looking up at her with his eyes wider than usual. He looked genuinely puzzled.

 _“He’s like a lost animal”_ , Lightning thought. She didn’t want to pity him, but she found that difficult. She was disgusted at hearing him talk that way, like an emotionless machine without the will to decide his own path in life. But she also felt a bit sorry for him.

She observed his eyes on her. Now, at daytime and wider than usual, Lightning could appreciate their color. An unique shade of green, almost ethereal. The truth was his lean build, his marble skin and his silver hair gave him quite the ethereal vibe. She wondered what he would be like if he hadn’t those bloodied bandages and he still had his wings.

She sighed and shook her head in annoyance. She had to admit that besides her hatred and anger towards him, she felt as curious as her sister. It wasn’t exactly usual to have an angel in your house, even if it was a wingless one.

“What’s your name?”, Serah asked then. Lightning turned her head towards them with renewed interest: she hadn’t come to realize they hadn’t even asked the angel his name.

He looked at them blankly.

“…What is… my name?”, he repeated, hesitant.

“Yeah, that’s what we asked”, Lightning growled. “Don’t tell me you’re both wingless and nameless.”

“Sis!”

The angel tilted his head, frowning. He slightly shook his head.

“I have no name… I am the servant of God, and that is my only name. I have never needed another one.”

Serah’s eyes were filled by pity at that stage. The angel didn’t quite understand why. What was what made names so interesting for them?

“Well, if you’re going to stay with we humans you’re gonna need one”, Lightning said sharply. “Humans need to distinguish ourselves from each other by names. And without wings, you don’t look that different from us.”

Serah gave her a stern look before turning again to the bewildered angel.

“You sure you don’t have any other name? Or any other way to refer to you… I know the Order calls you ‘messenger of God’, but that one doesn’t count. You must have one!”

He wasn’t sure if he really needed a name, but Lightning had hit the nail on the head. He was now trapped in the world of humans and he somewhat resembled them. He would have to blend to some of their quirks if he wanted to survive.

“I don’t have a name as you understand it…”, the angel frowned, trying to unsuccessfully think or remember anything that could help. “Sometimes, God called me ‘the hope of humanity’ because I was the one who watched over you according to him. But that isn't a name either according to your ways…”

“The ‘hope of humanity’? How fitting”, Lightning raised her eyebrows out of sarcasm. “Well, I guess that considering we don’t have anything closer to what you are, we can call you Hope.”

The angel looked at her, not knowing what to say, but Serah nodded after a moment, smiling.

“Hope… I like it”, she said, and smiled gently to him. “I think it’s a good name for you. What about you?”

Did he have to think anything about it? The name meant nothing to him. But he didn’t dislike it, and if humans really needed to call him by name, he’d have to accept it.

And besides, it had been Lightning who had suggested it. Perhaps that was why he didn’t think it sounded bad, despite her obvious sarcasm.

“… You may call me that way if you wish so”, he finally said, leaning his head on the pillow, exhausted.

“Then it’s settled”, Serah widened her smile. “From now on, we’ll call you Hope. See?, now you have a name. You’ll see how you’ll like to have one, I’m sure.”

He said nothing, but he had his doubts. It was just a name, wasn’t it? Why humans would give it so much importance?

 _“Lightning said humans need to distinguish themselves from each other…”_ , he thought, closing his eyes. _“Maybe it’s because, given that they are many and they are very similar, it makes them feel that somehow they are special.”_

“I think he’s talked a lot for now”, Lightning said, stepping away from the wall. “Let’s go, Serah. Let him sleep.”

“You’re right”, her sister said, and she stood up and leaned toward him. “Rest now all as you can, Hope. We’ll be back at night, okay?”

The angel nodded, without any strength left to speak. He heard Lightning’s bedroom door close behind the two sisters, though he’d have sworn he felt the young woman’s suspicious stare on him before she left the room.

Now he had a name. Never before he thought he would. As an angel, he didn’t need a name. As far as he knew, he was the only one that existed, at least in that world. He didn’t have to distinguish himself.

But now… in a way, he was special. Not in a good way, of course. He was a fallen, wingless angel, chained to a realm in which he didn’t belong. He was different from humans, and from the concept of what an angel was.

And now his difference had been sealed with a name.

_“My name is Hope.”_


	8. Enemy

"Come on", Lightning insisted, holding the bowl of stew in her hands. "Just eat it, will you?"

"I don't need it", Hope looked apprehensively at the content of the bowl, and shook his head. "I am an angel. I don't have to eat."

"Cut the crap. You haven't eaten anything for more than a week, and you're getting gaunter. No one endures so much time without eating or drinking."

Lightning had been almost half an hour trying to convince him to eat the stew. It had been two days since the sisters gave the angel a name, and in that time, Hope seemed to have regained a bit of strength to speak without so many efforts. He was still very weak and he could hardly move, but at least he already was able to sit up a bit in bed.

That morning, while Serah was casting her Cures spells on the young angel's wounds, they were startled by a strange noise that had frightened Hope in particular. Even though the angel wasn't exactly very expressive, the sisters had begun to identify his reactions. He widened his eyes a little more than usual when he heard the noise coming from inside him, and looked questioningly at them.

"… What are you doing?", he had asked Serah suspiciously, moving away a bit from her and placing a hand over his belly. She had looked at him for a moment and laughed.

"You're hungry, genius", Lightning replied when she noticed Hope's confusion. He looked at her as if she were messing with him while Serah laughed nonstop.

"Hunger is a human need… I cannot be hungry."

"Well, I'd say your stomach doesn't agree."

A couple of hours later, there was Lightning, trying to make him eat that stew. That was ridiculous. Yes, he was an angel, but Hope had the appearance of a young man on his middle-twenties. And she was trying to make him eat as if he were a kid.

Hope kept giving apprehensive glances at the bowl. Lightning couldn't understand how anyone could look that way at a stew that smelled great and tasted better, courtesy of Serah's culinary skills.

"Listen", she said, menacingly brandishing the spoon, "if you don't eat it, I'll make you swallow it myself. If you want to starve to death, I can save time for both by stabbing you with my sword. And trust me, it's not I'm not willing to do it."

The young angel looked down briefly and slightly frowned. Lightning wouldn't have been surprised if she hurt his feelings, but for some reason she felt even more annoyed at him not reacting as she expected. A normal person would have protested at the very least, but him… he was like nothing more than an empty shell. And that got the young woman on her nerves.

"What?", she snapped at his silence. "Are you going to eat or I'm gonna have to feed you by force?"

"… Am I supposed… to swallow it? …", Hope tilted his head and grimaced. Lightning began to understand what the problem was: if he had no need to eat until then, it made sense that the simple idea would be alien to him, to say the least. And judging by his question, perhaps even outright disgusting.

She sighed in annoyance. She couldn't believe she had to treat Hope like a five-year-old kid, since she was sure that as an angel he was far older. But Serah had noted, human needs and customs were a whole different world to him, so in a way, he was indeed watching the world through the inexperienced eyes of a child.

"Look", Lightning filled the spoon and brought it to her mouth, chewing slowly and exaggeratingly before swallowing the food. "It's not that hard. Now you do it, because I won't feed you as if you were a brat."

Even if he wanted to protest, Hope wouldn't have been able to, since Lightning put the bowl in his hands and glared at him, crossing her arms. In general, the angel could hold impassively the gaze of any other human, but he found it impossible when it came to Lightning.

He picked up the spoon and looked at it not so much convinced, but Lightning squinted dangerously, so he decided not to tempt fate and fill the spoon with stew. He brought it to his mouth reluctantly, and glanced hesitantly to Lightning. She nodded curtly, and Hope had to open his mouth and swallow its content, literally. He started coughing when the hot stew went down his throat.

"You idiot…", Lightning had turned away in disgust when Hope began to cough. "I told you to chew it first! How could you swallow it just like that?"

"I have told you… I didn't have to eat", Hope managed to say between coughs. "I don't know… how it is done."

Lightning handed him a glass of water, sighing in resignation.

"Drink this", she said. "It'll help you swallow it. And you don't have to chew this, you have to do what you just did with the food."

Hope couldn't reply in his situation, so he obeyed. He felt relieved when the water pushed the food down his throat and he could stop coughing.

"This is insane", he murmured, giving the glass back to Lightning. "I cannot understand how you humans can do this with the ease you do."

"Because we depend on it to stay alive. And just in case you haven't noticed, it seems you're now also included", Lightning replied, and pointed to the bowl. "Now, eat it. And chew the food first."

Hope tilted his head, looking at the bowl with more distrust than before, if possible, but he knew Lightning wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He brought again the stew-filled spoon to his mouth, and this time he tried to chew it. It was a bit difficult for him at first since he wasn't used to that movement, but he gradually got better.

"Right", Lightning said when the young angel finished the contents of the bowl and gave it to her, and held out to him the glass of water. "Drink it all, it'll be good for your digestion."

He took it, and drank it slowly. The water made the stew's taste fade in his mouth, and he felt somewhat disappointed. He wasn't used to flavors, so he had eaten it without paying it so much attention. But now that it was fading, Hope found himself regretting it.

In that moment, Serah entered the room with a basket of laundry in her arms. She smiled broadly when she saw the empty bowl that Lightning held in her hands.

"Oh! Wow, Hope, you managed to eat it all?", Serah went to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel… strange", he said after a pause, and laid his head on the pillow, feeling suddenly tired. "It is as if I were…  _full_. And I can hardly stay awake…"

"That's good", Serah smiled. "It means you're doing a good digestion. It'll be great for you to sleep for a while, you'll see."

Hope didn't answer. He had closed his eyes, and within seconds he was more asleep than awake. Serah covered his body with the blanket for him to not get cold, and picked up the laundry Lightning had left in a corner of the room.

"He's sleeping like a log", Lightning frowned. "At least when he's asleep he doesn't bother us."

"Don't be so harsh on him", Serah said, severe. "He hasn't done anything to you. Furthermore, despite the way you treat him, I think he likes you."

Lightning snorted irritably.

"Well, I don't."

"You can only hate what he represents", her sister noted, watching the asleep angel with some pity. "You still don't know what's inside him."

"There's nothing, Serah. He said it himself: his will is Bhunivelze's. He's like an empty shell that only does what he's ordered to."

Serah cocked her head and looked thoughtfully at Hope.

"That's all he's known so far. Put yourself in his place, sis… He's been serving God all his existence, and now all of a sudden his master left him and he's trapped in a world that is completely different from the one he's been living in. And on top of this, he's lost his wings… He's neither angel nor human. I can't even imagine how confused he must feel."

Although it annoyed her, Lightning had to admit that what Hope was going through wasn't exactly pleasant. But she doubted he felt anything about it. Now that he spent more time awake, his obvious lack of expressivity was obvious, both in his face and voice.

"Let's go", she told her sister to avoid that conversation, getting up from the edge of the bed. "Let him sleep."

Serah frowned, noticing the change of topic, but she nodded. Once they left the room, the two sisters went to the kitchen: Serah had made stew for more than one person, since she had to cook something for Hope before.

"Snow's coming tonight", Serah commented while having lunch, sitting at the kitchen table. Lightning briefly frowned. "He'll stay for a few days, now that there are holidays in Yusnaan."

"I didn't know there were days that aren't holidays in Yusnaan."

"Well, you know what I mean. When he's allowed to take a few free days", Serah said, smiling widely. "He'll help us to look after Hope and not mess up our own routines."

Lightning raised her eyebrows.

"Trusting Snow into Hope's care? He'd be dead in less than two days. Though, now that I think about it, it's not a bad idea."

"You're so wicked", Serah laughed. "Do you really mean it?"

"You think I don't?", Lightning looked down at her plate, her face in tension. "You know how much I want that angel to get out of my sight."

Her sister sighed.

"I can't believe I'm the only one that can sympathize with him. Both you and I know how it feels when the world fears you and wants to kill you for what you are, and not for who you are."

Serah's words left Lightning speechless for a few moments. She brought a hand to her chest instinctively, and saw that her sister did the same with her left forearm. Yes, she knew. Of course she knew. Like the people close to them.

 _"_ _Rejected by all and living in fear of what people might do to us"_ , Lightning pursed her lips.  _"So we end up getting close, one way or another, because we only have each other. But this angel is all alone."_

"The Order would be delighted to shelter him", she replied, however.

"You think so?", Serah shook her head. "I wouldn't be that sure. Without wings, Hope doesn't look a lot like an angel. They'd probably kill him for being a blasphemer."

That was true. The Order would never believe that Hope was their revered angel messenger of almighty Bhunivelze. They would have to see him now, convalescent, confused and with his wings ripped off.

"I don't like having him at home", Lightning growled. "Have you told Snow what he is yet?"

"Yes. He was so stunned at first, but he says that as long he doesn't behave as an enemy, we shouldn't treat him as such."

 _"_ _Two of a kind"_ , Lightning snorted wearily. She didn't understand how Serah nor Snow could ignore the danger posed by the angel. He was a servant of God, and people like them were undesirables in Bhunivelze's eyes. Or, at least, that was what the Order preached, and what the Order said was supposed to have been transmitted via Bhunivelze's messenger, and that one was Hope.

"I'm going", the young woman said, rising from the table and putting her plate in the sink. "I'll be back for dinner."

"Where are you going?", Serah looked at her worriedly.

"To Noel's pub", she replied, avoiding looking at her sister. "I told Fang yesterday we'd meet there."

"Oh… Well, say them hi for me. And tell them I'm getting better, Noel will like to hear it."

Lightning nodded. She got ready soon and get out of the house, partly because she didn't want to take her bad mood on Serah. She was very frustrated and she didn't like it. And that damn fallen angel was to blame.

She felt divided. She wanted to kill him and the threat he represented, but then again she understood him. Perhaps she even felt a bit identified with him. Being feared and hated by most people, except for a small group.

But she at least had Serah, her friend Fang, and her other "acquaintances", for calling them in some way. Hope had no one. And Lightning was sure he was aware to some extent.

Maybe he also feared humans. She didn't know if it was due to his lack of emotions, but he gave off the impression that he closed himself as well to those around him, as she did in order to protect herself.

And yet… she remembered what Serah said. Despite her harsh treatment towards him, Hope seemed a lot more receptive with her. She wondered if perhaps Bhunivelze also treated him that way and so he was more submissive to her. She felt disgust at the thought.

She didn't want to be like Bhunivelze. Not in a million years. A being that treated his servants in such a horrible way and left them to their fate at their worst? She'd rather kill herself.

As she walked down the street, Lightning asked herself for the first time if her hatred and rage wasn't, in fact, bringing her to her most hated enemy's level. And she felt even more hatred and rage towards the angel that was plunging her into that ocean of confusion.

_"_ _I hate you. And you don't know how much."_


	9. Threat

The pub known as _The Farseer's Rest_ was located in the outskirts of Luxerion, not far from where the Farron sisters lived. It was a small, gloomy place compared to the inns of the capital.

But it was a discreet place, and that was actually the role the pub had to play.

"Hey, Lightning!", Noel Kreiss, the owner and bartender, greeted when Lightning entered the pub. "You've come so early. Fang told me we weren't expecting you until the afternoon."

"Well, yeah", she growled and sat at the bar. "I didn't really want to stay at home."

Noel looked at her suspiciously, while looking behind the bar a large glass and a couple of bottles.

"Fang told me a bit about it. Something about a wounded guy you found in the street and you're looking after him. Does it have to do with it, or Snow's the problem again?"

Lightning huffed. Not even going to the pub she could get rid of that damn angel.

"Why are you making that face?", Noel raised an eyebrow, and filled the glass with banaberry liquor before handing it to the young woman. "Don't tell me he's troubling you."

"Specify what you mean. If you're hinting at anything, I'll make you swallow that bottle."

"I didn't mean that! Though, wow, look at how quickly you snapped out", Noel laughed. Lightning frowned, annoyed, and sipped her drink. "That's no small feat, considering how hard is to make you lose control…"

"Shut up, Noel."

Noel knew well Lightning's temper and preferred not commenting anything, but he kept a little smile that the young woman didn't like at all. What in the world he would be thinking about now?

"How's Serah doing?", he asked after a while, washing some glasses. "It's been a long time since the last time she came here. Since, you know…"

"She's better", Lightning sighed. "If we're a bit lucky, it'll no longer be active soon. But you know that in her case it's more usual it reactivates again."

"Yeah, I know", Noel frowned. "Tell me about it, at this point."

Since they were children, Noel and Serah had been best friends, almost like siblings, so the young man knew very well the particular ability of the youngest Farron sister. And now his love interest had the same gift, or rather curse, something that had him constantly in worry, plus the fact he hardly could meet her.

"Look who's here", Fang's voice suddenly weighed in; Lightning turned, and of course saw her best friend entering the pub. "You've come a lot early than usual for ya."

"That's what I was telling her", Noel said, smiling, and he took another liquor bottle for Fang. "Looks like that guy she has at home is giving her some serious trouble."

"Oh, really? I told ya, boy, this was gonna be promising", Fang smiled mischievously, raising her eyebrows and elbowing Lightning. She huffed, highly irritated.

 _"_ _This is the last thing I had left to hear"_ , she thought holding back the urge to punch them both.

"I told you it's not like that. I wouldn't get closer than three meters to that being."

Fang and Noel exchanged a puzzled look.

"That 'being'? You're kidding, or you really mean he's not human?", Noel asked.

"That's what I mean. And you don't know how much I want to get rid of him."

"Oh, so I was right then?", Fang said. "He's not human? Now  _this_  is promising. Spill it, sunshine."

Lightning didn't want to talk about the angel. She had gone to the pub to relax and stop thinking about him, but apparently Fang and Noel weren't of the same opinion.

And she also knew them well enough to know they wouldn't leave her alone until she told them.

Though, who knows? Maybe she could convince them to kill the angel once she told them what he was.

* * *

The touch of strange hands on the sore skin of his back made Hope wake up from his sleep. He weakly opened his eyes and shivered, trying to move away from whoever was touching him.

"Easy", Serah's reassuring voice said. "I'm only going to heal your wounds, okay?"

Hope turned between the sheets, and saw Serah there, sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands giving off the soft bluish glow Lightning's also did when she healed him.

"… Where is Lightning?", the young angel asked, looking around with effort. Since he had regained consciousness, it had always been her who had healed him. Perhaps that's why he reacted that way with Serah.

"She's gone… She'll be back for dinner, but in the meantime I'll have to change your bandages and heal you in her place", Serah smiled sweetly. "Is it that you want my sister to do it?"

Hope frowned slightly. He didn't know if he wanted or not, but maybe by habit, he felt more comfortable when Lightning was the one who took care of him.

"She always does it… She doesn't hurt me. Though I know she doesn't want to heal me."

Serah sighed.

"I won't hurt you, I promise. I know it's not the same for you, but if I leave you with the same bandages for the next hours until she comes back, your wounds could be infected. I'll do it as quickly as possible to not bother you, okay?"

It seemed he had no choice. Hope said nothing, but sat up slowly to let Serah heal him, not without reluctance. He felt his body tensing up when the young woman brushed his back with her fingers again when she started taking away his bandages.

"Sorry…", Serah muttered, trying to touch him the least possible. "Did I hurt you?"

"It is not hurt", Hope said quietly. "I don't like it when humans touch me."

She tilted her head while she took away the first layer of those thick bandages. Despite the days that had passed, they were still stained with blood, which meant Hope's wounds were still bleeding.

"I guess it's normal, if you're not used to physical contact. It has to be hard for you, now that you're stuck with us…"

"You respect enough my personal space", Hope held back a wince when Serah retired the next layer of bandages, closer to his wounds. "Which I appreciate… Yet you affect me."

"We affect you? What do you mean?", Serah looked worried.

Hope took a deep breath before answering. He had regained some of his strength thanks to the care of the Farron sisters, but for a couple of days now he had noticed he was feeling more and more exhausted.

"I sense the energy that all entities give off", the young angel explained. "Both positive and negative. Through this power, I can know when the world is in balance or is threatened by the concentration of energy… But they also affect me. Positive energy strengthens my life force, while negative energy weakens it."

Serah's eyes widened in surprise. She began to understand why Hope slept so much lately and why he was getting that thinner.

"You mean we're making your life force… to be consumed?"

"Not exactly", Hope said, taking a deep breath. "It is true that in your realm your combined energy affects me more, but you emanate both positive and negative energy, which should leave me in a neutral state. However…", he paused. "When this energy is projected straight at me, then it is when it has direct consequences over my life force."

He said nothing more, but it wasn't necessary. Serah understood immediately what was leaving Hope without energy, and narrowed her eyes sadly.

"It's my sister, isn't it? You're sensing all the negativity she feels towards you, and it's draining your life force."

Hope didn't reply. He had his back to Serah, but she didn't have to see his face to know the answer. Specially since his expression wouldn't have changed much.

"I'm sorry, Hope", she muttered, sighing. "Please forgive my sister. I know it's not your fault to be what you are, but I'm afraid Lightning doesn't think like me…"

"I have no reason to demand her any apology. She's in her right to hate me, and I cannot do anything about it."

Finally, Serah removed the last bandage layer, leaving those two horrible wounds exposed to the air. As she feared, they still bled, but not so abundantly as before. Hope shivered when he felt the pain of his torn up back.

"Relax, it'll hurt less", Serah kindly said; the young angel took a deep breath and tried to relax the muscles of his back. The pain subsided a bit. "I think they're better… My sister is the one that knows about this type of wound, but they look better than before."

He preferred not to say anything. He wasn't that sure. In the case his wounds would ever completely heal, he had no guarantee that his wings would grow back but Bhunivelze's word. And his master had abandoned him in the human world to his fate. Did he really had a reason to trust him?

At once, his brand of servitude started to burn, making him wince. He brought a hand to the scar that covered his left eye: a reminder that despite his punishment and having lost his wings, he still was a servant of God, and he wasn't allowed to doubt him.

"What's wrong?", Serah asked worriedly.

"Nothing that should worry you", Hope muttered, lowering his hand. Serah frowned, but made no comment: she kept healing the wounds of the young angel with her Cure spells.

For a few minutes they were silent. Hope tried to relax his back, feeling a little more energy thanks to Serah's healing magic, but exhaustion was still weighing on him.

"My sister doesn't hate you in particular", Serah said gently, withdrawing her hands from Hope's back. "It's what you represent. She considers you a threat, in many ways."

"I won't hurt you", Hope murmured. "I don't understand why I should. You are human, but I don't have anything against you. You have taken me into your house and saved my life."

Serah smiled sadly.

"That's a relief to hear… But you don't know anything about us, Hope… And I'm sure you wouldn't think the same if you knew certain things."

Hope frowned slightly. Certain "things"? He would've asked with more interest if he had been anyone else, but he was an angel and his curiosity was very limited.

"If you fear that I will not think the same and I would hurt you if you tell me, I don't understand why you mention it."

She let out a short laugh, taking the bandages beside her and she began bandaging again Hope's back.

"Seen this way, it's absurd, I know… I don't know why I've told you. It's not that I distrust you, but we have our reasons to keep some secrets from you."

"I should suppose you are probing me then."

Serah half-smiled.

"For not knowing how humans feel, the truth is you're quite sharp."

"It is not a question of sharpness", Hope replied, tilting his head. "Like I said, I can feel the energy that all living things give off. I sense negativity from you. It is not aggressive like Lightning's, thus I guess it can be fear."

There was silence. Serah kept bandaging the young angel's back, but her hands were shaking slightly.

"I don't know if it's fear… Perhaps it's suspicion", she muttered after a couple of minutes. "You don't look capable of hurting us, Hope, but I don't know to what extent you're responsible for the Order's tyranny, as everyone says. And their treatment to those who are like my sister, my friends and me."

Hope said nothing, but he was intrigued by Serah's words. What kind of people they would be, that the Order seemed to treat so badly? He had already sensed something about the energy that the sisters emanated, something that other humans lacked. But he couldn't tell what it was.

 _"_ _It is much more intense in Lightning…"_ , the young angel thought, squinting.  _"I wonder if it is her aura what draws me to her like this… But her negativity doesn't let me delve into her."_

"There", Serah said as she finished bandaging his back, smiling. "I hope I've not bothered you much, Hope. I'll try to ensure my sister does it tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I appreciate that you healed me", he said, resting his head on the pillow. Despite he had regained some energy, he felt exhausted in general. "It is just… I feel more comfortable when Lightning does it."

Serah looked at him with a strange sparkle in her blue eyes. She smiled in a way Hope didn't quite identify. It was as if she kept some sort of secret.

"But you say that being close to my sister drains your life force away, and you can't say she treats you nicely."

"That is right."

"And you still want her to heal you? Why?"

"I don't know…", Hope closed his eyes, confused. "I only know I do. Maybe it is because I am used to it."

Serah's smile slightly widened. But she said nothing more about it; she got up from the bed with the dirty, bloodied bandages on her hands and covered Hope with the blanket.

"Tonight my fiancé will come and he'll stay a few days with us", she told him. Hope half-opened his eyes in a reaction Serah identified as alarm. "Don't worry, he's such a good man. A little plain at times, but he won't do anything to you, I promise. He was who brought you home, though maybe you don't remember."

He didn't look convinced, but he simply nodded weakly. He didn't remember meeting Serah's fiancé, but the prospect of having more humans around worried him. He knew he wasn't very welcome in general, and having to endure more negative energy besides Lightning's towards him didn't particularly please him.

 _"_ _What I am supposed to have done to earn the hatred of all these humans? Do all of them hate me, or only people like Lightning and Serah do, whatever they are?"_

It shouldn't, but the idea made him feel strangely empty on the inside. Very slightly, of course, but for a being that was supposed to have no emotions, a complete wonder.

"Now rest, Hope", Serah interrupted the course of his thoughts. "I'll leave you some food if you're still asleep when we have dinner, if you wake up while we're sleeping and you're hungry, okay?"

He nodded again, already crushed under the exhaustion that always took over him whenever confusion struck him. He'd only take a few seconds to fall asleep, something that the Farron sisters had already learnt to anticipate.

When Serah left the room and closed the door behind her, she half-smiled and put a hand to her heart. She couldn't help but wonder if the angel had anything to do with what she had seen many years ago… and what had been guiding her sister's motivation during all that time.

Maybe, just maybe… Lightning had gone astray on her pursue.

Or maybe that was what she, Serah, wanted to believe. Perhaps Hope represented a different threat that her sister could ever begin to imagine.


	10. Ally

Lightning couldn't sleep that night. She kept turning between the sheets she had brought to the living room couch, unable to relax and stop thinking about everything that happened that day, and her conversation with Serah.

The truth was, she had a lot to think about. The two conversations she had that day had turned upside down everything she was planning to do with the angel. She was still angry at him, wishing for him to get away from her sight, but now she realized that perhaps, after all, she needed him, contrary to her principles.

That, of course, made her hatred for him increase. So she chose to sleep that night in the living room couch, instead of the one on her room, after what Serah told her.

But the conversation she specifically had in mind was the one she shared with her friends in the pub that afternoon.

* * *

"So, an angel, huh?", Fang smiled dangerously; Lightning knew the gesture, and she knew it meant imminent danger. "The angel of God, no less. So it turns out, Vanille  _really_  nearly killed him…"

Noel, unlike Fang, was staring at her with an open mouth.

"I can't believe it. You have one of our greatest enemies at home, Lightning! And you're sheltering him of your own accord?"

"Never", she growled, in a very bad mood. "If I haven't killed him yet is because Serah doesn't let me. Apparently she and Snow are of the opinion we shouldn't blame him for being what he is."

"I don't understand", Noel shook his head. "Serah should be the first one to wish his death! I know she doesn't like to kill anyone, but protecting the angel of God is a whole different thing…"

"This is why I've told you. Maybe together we can convince Serah to allow us to kill him", Lightning looked at them almost fiercely. "He'll bring us nothing but misfortune, and I refuse to have him interfering in our lives and our mission."

Noel made the motion to nod, and Lightning felt for a moment that the battle was won and finally she and her friends would get rid of that angel.

But then Fang raised her hand:

"Wait, wait, sunshine. Now that you mentioned our mission… You sure you've thought through about what you're gonna do with that angel?"

Lightning looked at her, not knowing what she meant.

"What are you saying?"

"C'mon", Fang gave her another of her dangerous smiles. "You should be the one most interested in keepin' the angel alive, at least for now. Don't tell me you've already forgotten."

She shook her head in annoyance, but she was also puzzled. What was what she had forgotten, and why did she need the angel alive?

"It's unbelievable you don't remember. You've spent years looking for the Heart, and now you've forgotten about the legend! You, of all people!"

Fang's words left Lightning pale as death. She looked down, unable to truly believe she had missed that particular detail.

_"_ _How could I be so stupid? I've been so driven by hate and anger, I almost lost the only chance that maybe I'll ever have to find what I'm looking for…"_

"Oh, of course!", Noel clapped his hands, once he had recovered from the news. "I didn't even remember the legend! Perhaps it's true after all, and you all know, I had my doubts."

Fang sharpened her smile triumphantly at seeing Lightning pale and stunned. If there was anything able to break through her barriers, it was her goal. Specially if it was anything that could get her closer to it, perhaps her only chance.

Lightning took a moment to answer cautiously:

"… We have no guarantee that the legend is actually true. And much less about that angel helping us, if he suspects anything about for what we want the Heart."

"Oh, c'mon, don't try to play skeptical now", Fang laughed scathingly. "I won't buy it. You're the one who has always believed in that legend on blind faith."

"What you don't want is to have to resort to the angel", Noel argued.

Certainly not, Lightning didn't want to admit that maybe she needed the angel of God alive. She was torn between her wish to find the Heart, and the pride that prevented her from asking for help from that being.

"We can't trust him", the young woman said, taking a deep breath. "The Order is also looking for the Heart, and he's a servant of Bhunivelze. He could betray us easily for his master."

"You think so?", Fang stroked her chin. "Without knowing him, I can't tell, but from what you've told us, Bhunivelze ripped his wings off from disobeyin' him and left him abandoned in our world."

"Right, I don't think he has a lot of sympathy for him", Noel said, washing the glasses. "I wouldn't, anyway. In fact, if someone did anything like that to me, I'd try to get a bit of payback."

"We're human. He's nothing but an empty shell which merely follows order, even if he's mistreated."

"Whatever", Fang interrupted her, "the truth is, he's all we've had in a while to get closer to the Heart. And I really doubt you wanna lose this chance."

Lightning raised a brow.

"And what you suggest I should do?"

"Want my opinion? Entice him. Not in the way you're thinkin' ", Fang smiled slyly when she caught the glare of the young woman, "but by not being hostile with him. According to you, he's like a kid, right? Well, kids tend to be kinder to those who are kind with them as well."

"Besides, if he likes you as Serah says, it shouldn't be difficult to bring him to our side", Noel added smiling encouragingly.

Lightning grunted, not very convinced. Hypocrisy wasn't her thing, and having to swallow up her hatred for the angel and treating him with some kindness wasn't something she felt like doing. She'd rather stab her sword in his heart and finish the job earlier.

But her friends were right. If that angel was her only option to find the Heart and fulfill her destiny at last…

"… Right", she reluctantly murmured. "I'll do it."

"That's the spirit, sunshine", Fang patted her on the shoulder. "Sacrificing yourself for the Heart, huh?"

"For the King", she corrected her, annoyed.

"For the King", her friend conceded, nodding with a fierce smile.

"For the King!", Noel said giving them a thumbs-up. It was a line that all of them had always said in their secret meetings in the pub, and even though it was only generally used as a formality to proclaim the meeting was over, that time was full of a lot more meaning.

Specially for Lightning.

_"_ _For the King."_

* * *

When she got home, Lightning had found Serah and Snow waiting for her with the dinner on the table, but she didn't feel like eating. She had briefly greeted them and had gone upstairs; not to her bedroom, where a sleeping Hope was laying, but to Serah's. She lied on her bed, feeling angry and confused at the angel who was asleep a few feet away.

Serah went upstairs to her bedroom shortly after, undoubtedly worried about her. But she was a lot more serious than usual.

Lightning soon found out why. According to Serah, her hate and negative feelings towards Hope were draining his life energy, and if that continued that way, it'd end up draining it completely. After what she had learned that day, she couldn't let the angel die because of her. As much as it nagged her, she needed him alive.

Dawn was starting to rise and Lightning hadn't even gotten a bit of sleep. Her confusion wouldn't allow her, and she wasn't used to sleeping on the living room couch. She sighed resignedly, getting up and rubbing her sore eyes.

_"_ _It's obvious that until I solve this once and for all I won't be able to rest in peace."_

She went upstairs, frowning briefly when she saw Serah's bedroom door, where her sister and Snow were sleeping together. Snow might be one of them, but he was very different at the same time, and Lightning didn't think he was worthy of Serah. And she dealt even worse with the fact Serah had chosen him over her.

She shook her head to not add more fuel to the flames of her anger, and went to her bedroom. She found Hope there, lying on her bed as always, but instead of being asleep as usual, his head was slightly tilted as he was watching the dim sunlight of dawn that came through the curtains covering the window, his eyes squinting a bit. Maybe the fact that he no longer only woke up when the sisters forced him to meant he was getting better, but the truth was he looked so pale and haggard, and Lightning had to admit he really looked to be consumed.

"… Lightning?", Hope muttered when he heard her coming in, turning his head to her slowly. As he always did when they were alone, the angel's eyes acquired this strange spark. A mix of fear and perhaps interest. Or rather, curiosity.

She wrinkled her nose at him in silence. She wasn't sure what to say or how to act. A few hours ago, she had been sure she wanted to kill him. Now she had to earn his trust, but despite his hard time trying to understand human emotions, Hope was no fool, and he'd suspect if she suddenly was friendly with him. And besides, she wasn't good at being hypocritical. Nor friendly.

Hope didn't take his eyes off her, and Lightning realized he was checking if she was carrying any weapon. She realized he was well aware she wanted to kill him, and that convinced her to not even bother pretending anything.

"I'm not going to kill you, for now", the young woman snarled, getting closer to the edge of the bed. She stood beside it, crossing her arms. "Unless you give me more reasons for it. Now stop looking at me like that."

He looked away, but he was still tense. Lightning wondered if, in case she had come to kill him, he'd have defended himself. He still had no strength to get up, but he was an angel after all.

"Serah told me what's happening to you", the young woman continued. "She says my negative feelings towards you are draining your life energy. Is that true?"

"… It is", Hope said softly. "It is not your fault. I am the one who senses it, and from what I hear you saying, you have enough reasons to feel them."

Lightning held back the urge to punch him. Not only because of the anger she felt towards him, but because she couldn't believe he was  _apologizing_  because she was leaving him without his life force. But on the other hand, his words proved that Hope wasn't as asleep as they sometimes thought: he might not know the specific reason, but he had got the general idea that he was the cause of all their misfortunes.

"I'll be honest with you", the young woman sighed coldly. "I have reasons to hate you, and I can't pretend I don't. It's useless to make you believe otherwise, because you're the first one who senses it."

Hope said nothing. He simply frowned slightly, as he always did whenever Lightning told him harsh words.

"But I've been thinking that maybe you can help us. And so I decided to not kill you, if you're not hostile with us."

He stared at her for a few seconds. His expression hadn't changed much, but in his eyes Lightning could read bewilderment and curiosity.

"I will not hurt you", Hope said cautiously. "I am an angel, I cannot lie. But I feel that this help you speak about refers not only to your sister and you. You want more of me and so you will not kill me."

_"_ _Damn angel"_ , Lightning though, blinking briefly. Hope had reached the bottom of the question in a moment, which basically destroyed any subtle attempt to win his favor.  _"For someone who doesn't understand humans, he caught it pretty quickly."_

"Yes", she merely replied, trying not to look surprised. "But you should know that if you do, you'll be turning against the Order. They're also looking for what we do."

Hope tilted his head thoughtfully. The Order was considered the hands of God in the mortal realm, and he had given messages to their mediums from his master. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to disobey him again after having been punished that harshly.

_"_ _Wait a moment…"_ , Hope thought, surprised.  _"Am I really pondering… disobeying God once again? After what happened to me the first time I did?"_

He was certainly doing it. He was seriously considering it. Hope couldn't help wondering why. Maybe because it was Lightning who was asking him for help? After all, the first time he had disobeyed God's orders, it had been because of her.

Lightning was looking at him. Hope tried to decide, and find a way to help her without having to be punished after. Some way to find a hole in the orders his master had imposed him.

And he found it.

"I am not a servant of the Order", the angel replied. "I do not owe them anything. And about God… The orders he gave me only concerned him. His only order about humans was that I would not walk among them, and since that is what I did and I was punished to remain among you, there is nothing that prevents me to help you. Thus, whatever it is, I will."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure? We're not like the rest of humans. And I'm not going to take the risk to trust you if I don't have any guarantee that you won't betray us to the Order or your master."

"I cannot lie", Hope gave her a serene look. "But I can tell you not the whole truth. That applies both to you and God."

Again, Lightning couldn't but be left speechless at the angel's brutal honesty. From what she was seeing, he was an expert in finding ways around the imposed orders. It was logical, of course, because knowing what awaited him if he disobeyed, he'd have learned to analyze words and meanings.

And yet, he was being honest enough to reveal to her an asset that he had against them as well as against his master.

_"_ _Is that a proof of good will? A sign that I can trust him?"_

The truth was, Hope was an angel, and Lightning doubted he was wicked enough to make her believe she could trust him and then backstabbing her. For that, he would need a deep understanding of how the human mind worked, and Hope obviously lacked it. What he knew, he got it by deduction thanks to the positive and negative energy he felt from them.

"Right", the young woman said, and held out a hand. "If you give me your word, I'm willing to throw aside my previous intention to end your life. But you should know that I hate you, Hope, and that won't ever change, no matter if you're our ally."

Hope looked down, but he looked up at her seriously again, and shook her hand after a brief moment of doubt.

"I'll live with it. Controlled hatred will not kill me."

Lightning briefly raised her eyebrows at his words. Was it just her impression, or for a moment Hope had printed a tinge of sarcasm in his voice? He certainly had sounded less formal than usual.

_"_ _Actually…"_ , the young woman looked at the pale hand that was shaking hers, _"I'd say he's not as cold as he was days ago."_

Confusion struck again. Lightning let go of Hope's hand brusquely, irritated, and forced herself to remember that he was an angel who served God, an ally of convenience, and that she hated him and she would always hate him.

"Lightning", Hope murmured then, and this time the young woman could tell there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. "I know you hate me, that you want me dead and judging by what I get from your aura, I deserve it. But I can assure you that I will not hurt nor betray you ever. You saved my life, and I am and I will always be indebted to you and your sister."

_"_ _Damn you"_ , Lightning thought, looking at him as surprised as puzzled. Now she didn't expect that, much less coming from the angel of Bhunivelze. What he would be up to? Why did he suddenly say something like that, if he wasn't more than an empty shell that only lived to obey his master without question?

At her silence, Hope looked up at her, into her eyes. Even though his expression remained almost marble-like, Lightning noticed in his green eyes a spark she had never seen before. It seemed… of amusement. Or maybe sarcasm. Or a mix of both.

"You know I cannot lie", the young angel said, tilting his head, with that spark in his eyes that had left her speechless. No doubt, he was being sarcastic. Like a child that was starting to get into the world of emotions, yes. But emotions, after all.

"You can tell not the whole truth as well", she replied, raising an eyebrow. To which Hope replied mimicking her for a split second, so fleeting she wouldn't have believed it if not for his answer:

"It is up to you to trust your ally, Lightning."

Lightning shook her head, trying to hold back a small smile. Perhaps, after all, he could help her in her search for the Heart without resorting to dirty tricks.

"Turn around", she said, sitting on the edge of the bed; upon noticing Hope's questioning look, she added, "I'll check how you're doing with those wounds."

Hope looked surprised at first, but he obeyed, turning to lie down with his back to her with effort. Clearly those wounds still pained him a lot, and they would take a long time to heal.

However, the longer they took, the longer Hope would remain with them, and therefore they'd have more time to find what she sought.

They remained silent for a long time while Lightning took away the young angel's bandages from the previous day before using her healing magic on those horrible, still-bleeding wounds that marked his pale, bony back.

"Hope?", Lightning said after long minutes, after pondering it deeply.

He barely reacted:

"Yes?"

"… You can call me Light."

Hope turned his head to her, puzzled.

"W-What?", he asked cautiously, almost shyly.

She gave him a half smile full of sarcasm.

"Aren't we supposed to be allies now? You've offered me a proof of good will with your sincerity before. It's fair I do the same. Consider it a proof of our pact. So when you call me by that name, you'll remember you're the ally that I hate so much."

The young angel said nothing for a moment, but he finally nodded. His back to her as it was, Lightning wondered if that amused spark she had seen in his eyes would've returned.

"We are even then, Light."

Without saying anything more, Lightning continued healing Hope's wounds in silence, while thinking about the unprecedented pact she had just sealed with the angel of God.

_"_ _We're now allies"_ , the young woman thought, closing her eyes briefly.  _"For the King."_


	11. Brand

"Now, be careful", Serah told Hope, holding one of his arms as Lightning did the same. "You've almost got it."

Hope didn't answer, but in his eyes it was written over he had his doubts. His legs were shaking as if they were made of jelly, and every move caused him horrible pangs in the back.

"I'm not that sure, Serah", Lightning noted when she realized this. "He hasn't regained his strength yet. If we let him go, he'll fall over."

"But if you spend more time lying on the bed without moving your legs at all, then you won't be able to walk", Serah worriedly replied. "It's good to at least try making him stand, even if it's just for a couple of minutes."

But it was clear enough that wouldn't be that easy. He hadn't even sat on the edge of the bed and Hope's legs were already making tremendous efforts to get him up. Serah had insisted on, because of his improvement, trying to help him walk so his leg muscles wouldn't go numb. The young angel hadn't complained at all, but it didn't take a whiz to realize how much the effort was hurting him.

"Leave it, Serah", Lightning said flatly when she decided that a breathless Hope was proof enough it wouldn't work. "It's still too soon."

Her sister sighed, disappointed, and let go of Hope's arm, letting him lie on the bed, his face less tense than before.

"I guess you're right… But it's already been a month and he hasn't got out of the bed. What about vital needs, hygiene…?"

Hope frowned a bit at Serah's comment. Truth was, in his state he couldn't fully appreciate it, but now that it had been mentioned, his keen sense of smell noted that his body odor wasn't nearly as neutral as before.

"Don't make that face", Lightning told him raising her eyebrows. "I don't understand how, but you don't stink as much as any human would after a month unwashed. Nor how you don't need to go to the toilet at all."

The truth was Hope never had those needs, and therefore he couldn't be sure. But he thought he knew why by logical deduction.

"I am an angel", he said in a low voice. "My body is prepared to remove any impurities in my being. I guess that, if you humans need to expel toxins from your bodies, mine eliminates them."

The Farron sisters looked at him with curiosity and perhaps a bit of envy. Hope had been living with them for a month and he thought he knew why: it didn't sound like a very pleasant task, to expel solid toxins from your body.

"Yet", he went on, "there are some things I cannot eliminate. Like infectious entities, and…", he raised an arm and barely winced when he saw his marble skin look duller than usual, "dirt from the outside, from what I see."

Lightning and Serah studied him closely. They hadn't retired the sheets that covered the lower part of his body until then since the day they took him in; Hope still wore the long piece of purple cloth that completely covered his hips and left leg, leaving the other almost bare. The young angel looked at them awkwardly, not knowing why they were looking at him like that.

"It's not a big deal", Serah said then. "All that dirt would go away with a simple shower."

Hope blankly tilted his head.

"Shower?"

There was a brief silence. Then Serah laughed, and Lightning raised a hand to her forehead, resignedly sighing.

"You've still got too much to learn."

Snow's boastful voice, uncomfortably close to the slightly open door, startled the three:

"Hey guys! You need any help in there?"

Instantly, Hope flinched. He already knew Snow, of course, since it had been almost a week that they had formally met, but the angel still tended to feel tense whenever Serah's fiancé was close, probably because how loud he was despite his nice treatment to him.

"No!", Lightning shouted for Snow to hear her. "You do something useful, Snow, and go make lunch!"

"Alright, alright!", Snow let out a short laugh. "I just wanted to lend you a hand, sis!"

"I'm not your sister!"

Serah laughed and stood up, heading for the door.

"I'll help him, or he'll set the kitchen on fire", she said, smiling. "Lightning, how about you help Hope to clean himself a bit until he can take a shower?"

Lightning dangerously raised her eyebrows.

"What? Now I have to clean his ass too? What is this now, a kindergarten?"

Hope looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Lightning, Serah and Snow usually spoke that way about him even if he was there, maybe because they thought his lack of emotions allowed them to not having excessive care when expressing their true opinion. Something that wasn't entirely right, because the angel was learning more and more about humans, and that was inevitably reflected on the way he saw and understood the world.

"Sis", Serah put her hands on her hips and gave her sister a look both amused and exasperated. Lightning snorted, but she finally nodded.

"Right… Go to the kitchen, and make sure Snow doesn't break anything, or I'll beat him until he fixes it."

Still smiling, Serah left the bedroom. When she turned to Hope, Lightning found the angel staring at her with a spark of curiosity and fear in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I don't understand why you treat Snow that way", he replied tilting his head almost cautiously. "He is your sister's fiancé. You are family."

"We're not", she growled in annoyance; the last thing she wanted now was giving any explanation to the angel. "No blood link ties us. Snow isn't my family and he'll never be."

Hope stared at her.

"I don't see any connection. Does it really matter, sharing blood or not? You share the same person that you do consider family.

Lightning glared at him, though she couldn't quite hide her surprise. Since when Hope was an expert in family philosophy? Him, a creature that wasn't even human?

"What do you care? You wouldn't understand."

"I guess not", he conceded, leaning his head on the pillow and raising an eyebrow very briefly. During the last week, Hope had made that gesture a few times, but Lightning was still surprised by them. Not to mention his occasional and ever so subtle sarcasm.

His sarcasm, of course, greatly annoyed the young woman. But somehow it made easier for her to tolerate the angel, perhaps because he didn't seem so unbearably unexpressive.

_"_ _We are allies"_ , Lightning forced herself to remember.  _"I have to tolerate him. He's the only one who can lead me to the Heart if the legend is true."_

* * *

A little later, Lightning was sitting on the edge of the bed with a wet towel on her lap. Hope watched in silence as she rubbed his pale skin with it to clean the dirt accumulated during that month, which, thankfully, wasn't too much.

"You'll do the lower body", the young woman warned him rubbing the parts of his back that weren't covered by bandages. "You're not a baby who can't clean himself."

"I will do my best", he replied, making an effort to hold back the pain the towel caused by rubbing against the sore skin of his back. He was aware that what Lightning was doing was against her principles and he didn't want to tempt fate. She lately tolerated him better because of that talk in which they agreed to be allies in the still unknown mission Lightning had at hand, but she still was, as expected, rude and brusque to him.

Lightning made him lie down to rub his bare torso –or what wasn't bandaged of it– frowning at Hope's pained wincing.

"Can you relax already, or what?"

"I am trying. But it hurts…"

"I know that it hurts", Lightning snorted. "You should be used to by now. But the more you tense up, the more it'll hurt you. Take a deep breath."

Hope obeyed, and he noticed how the pain waned. His eyes narrowed, and while Lightning rubbed his shoulders with the towel, he tried to move a leg. He could barely lift it, and that was enough to make him feel suddenly exhausted.

"What the hell are you doing?", Lightning inquired.

"I am trying to move a leg", he replied, looking at her like a child who doesn't quite understand a question, or rather, why the question was asked. In that case, it was water clear that he had taken it literally.

"Though you might not believe it, I had figured myself that. What I wanted to know is why you tried to."

Hope cocked his head. He thought about the answer for a moment.

"I don't like being like this."

"Like this?", Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Like, how?"

"Like this. Bedridden. Hardly able to move. Wingless", the young angel frowned a bit. "I don't like it. I feel trapped."

Lightning went silent for a few seconds, processing his words. That was interesting: to date, Hope had never complained of his situation, and he had every reason to do so. That passivity had driven the young woman mad, as if he had resigned himself to endure it and lacked the will to fight the misfortunes imposed upon him.

Complaints came from feelings. Saying "I don't like it" implied an own opinion. Could angels, beings without emotions, have them? Or perhaps, after all, Hope was learning real human traits?

Of course, they were subpar traits compared to real human feelings. But considering how Hope was a month before, it was quite noticeable.

Lightning didn't want to think about it. She shook her head and began to rub Hope's left arm, or at least the parts that weren't covered by straps of purple fabric. Something quite complicated if she wanted to clean it well.

"This is impossible", she finally growled. "Can I remove these stupid straps?"

Hope turned his head to her blankly, until he looked down at his arm.

"Ah, you mean this", he murmured. "I guess so."

"You  _guess_  so?", Lightning raised her eyebrows again. "You're not sure if I can take this off without some weird stuff happening to you?"

He looked briefly hesitant.

"I can't know that for sure. I have never taken them off."

Lightning sighed.

"Right. Seems like we'll have to take the risk."

Hope watched apprehensively as the young woman unmade the straps covering his arm. She untangled them bit by bit, until she left his arm completely free.

The young angel opened and closed his hand, tensing his arm muscles and pursing his lips.

"What is it now?", Lightning asked, feeling a twinge of worry; would it have been a bad idea after all?

"My arm feels strange", Hope said. "It is as if it boils under my skin. It hurts a bit…"

"That's because it's loosening up", she explained, relieved once she recognized the symptoms. "If you've spent millennia without taking off those straps, it's not surprising at all. Nothing you have to worry about."

"Hmm", Hope didn't seem that convinced. But that always happened whenever he experienced a new physical sensation. Lightning knew he'd soon get used to, in the same way he had gotten used to hunger and thirst.

Lightning proceeded to rub his arm with the wet towel. Now that it wasn't covered by the straps, she could better appreciate its shape. As thin and frail as the rest of his body. Hope gave off that sense of fragility, as if his whole being was nothing more than an ethereal shadow. Or maybe an empty crystal vessel.

Then, when she started rubbing his left wrist, Lightning noticed something the straps had been covering. Something whitish, even whiter than his skin.

"What's this?", she cautiously inquired. It wasn't possible that it was what she thought at first: it didn't have a definite shape. It was just a bunch of randomly located paler patches and scratches on his wrist.

Hope looked at his hand.

"I don't know. It is the first time I see it."

"You mean you didn't know you had these scars?", Lightning shook her head and continued rubbing his wrist with the towel. "You could lack a brain and you wouldn't even notice."

The angel narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"I do have a brain. But these scars are new to me. Perhaps it is something God marked me with to identify me somehow when he created me."

"To identify you?", Lightning repeated, her face twisting in light disgust; that sounded too much like what the shepherds of the Wildlands did with their flocks, marking the animals with red-hot irons that left an indelible mark on their skin. "But you said you're the only angel Bhunivelze has."

"As far as I know, I am", Hope slightly frowned. "But unlike him, I am not omniscient. I'm nothing more than his servant. I just know what I have to in order to serve the task it was given to me, so there is a possibility of him having more angels serving him in other worlds and realms."

Lightning chose to not say anything. If that was true, then maybe Bhunivelze would simply create another angel to supply Hope's absence. After all, he had banished his servant to the mortal realm and ripped away his wings. In other words, he stripped away his most distinctive trait as an angel.

"In any case", Hope continued, interrupting her thoughts, "scars are part of angels. It is not surprising I have more than one."

"I don't quite understand that", Lightning untied the straps of the other arm and began to rub it; in this one there were no marks nor scars. "It's well known how damn perfectionist Bhunivelze is. Why would he create his servants with scars? Even if they're just physical, they're still imperfections."

"I guess because it is convenient", he said, his voice tinged with a very slight wary tinge. "We angels are servants. It is not allowed to us to rebel against our master, in any way. That is the purpose of the brand of servitude. To remind us that we must obey."

Lightning slowly turned to him, cautiously. Brand of servitude? Could it have anything to do with…? She put a hand to her chest, over her heart.

No, that was impossible. She pushed those thoughts away from her mind and carefully studied the angel, genuinely intrigued.

"So you have a brand? Where? I've never seen any on you."

"This is my brand of servitude", Hope pointed to the zigzagging scar that covered his left eye. "It isn't much hidden. In fact, it is supposed to be seen. It is what defines us as what we are."

"But it's just a scar", Lightning noted somewhat disappointed; of course she had noticed long time ago that scar, but she had never given it major importance. "I thought that what really defines your kind were a pair of wings."

"That defines us as angels", Hope softly replied. "It defines the species to which we belong. But what we  _are_ , that is defined by the brand: servants of God, with no other purpose in existence than to obey his command and enforce his will."

She frowned. That explanation might be the reason why Hope had been nameless until then: if the name defined what a being was, then the angel didn't really need one, as their brand of servitude did it for him. And that explained as well why Hope called himself "servant of God" when they first asked his name, because that  _had been_  his name.

_"_ _And now he doesn't even have wings"_ , Lightning thought.  _"But he still has the brand. He's neither human nor angel. Maybe, after all, he's not so different from us…"_

"… What is wrong?", Hope suddenly asked; startled, Lightning looked up and found him staring at her with his head gently tilted.

"Nothing", she gruffly replied. "Why would anything be wrong?"

He kept staring.

"I sense your aura severely disrupted… I think it is worry. Or confusion. Is it because I have told you about my brand?"

_"_ _Damn you…"_ , Lightning thought, greatly irritated. Hope's ability to infer people's thoughts through their auras always got her on her nerves. And because of living together with humans, he was getting better at it.

"Light, I know you don't believe me, but I gave you my word that I would not hurt you. Right now, God doesn't pay me much attention. And this brand doesn't mean I am obliged to follow his orders as you would think–"

"Shut up", she interrupted him; Hope obeyed immediately, flustered. "It has nothing to do with your brand."

Hope cocked his head again, and squinted at her. That gesture made Lightning nervous: she knew the young angel did it every time he tried to decipher her emotions.

"Then, which one?"

Lightning paled.

"What are you saying?", she snapped, moving away from him. "What do you mean?"

He looked puzzled. Lightning figured he didn't understand her reaction, but she didn't want to take any risks. If the angel of Bhunivelze found out…

… What would happen? Hope had just mentioned God was paying him little attention, if he was paying him any at all. And he himself didn't seem able to harm them. But if what the Order preached was true…

"Something inside you is altered every time you mention a brand", the angel replied cautiously. "If it is not mine that causes this reaction, which one is bothering you?"

She didn't know how to answer. Somehow she knew this conversation would come at some point, but she wouldn't have ever imagined only one week after her pact with Hope the anger would come to the depths of the question.

It was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. She had hoped this moment would take enough time until it was clear Hope wouldn't betray them. If she told him, she could ruin in a second what whole generations had barely managed to build.

"… Light?", Hope's voice made her flinch. The young angel was staring at her with a spark of concern in his eyes.

_"_ _Genuine concern"_ , Lightning noted, surprised. As a being who was just learning what emotions were, Hope couldn't pretend because he basically didn't know how to.  _"He's truly concerned… but how is that possible?"_

That was what made her decide. She got up from the bed, slowly backed toward the wall without losing sight of him and her hand looked for the sheathed swords leaning against the wall behind her. Better safe than sorry. Hope's reaction would be what decided whether he lived or not beyond that day.

He looked at her blankly. He looked scared, even.

"Light, what's wrong? What are you doing?"

"It's not your brand what worries me", she replied giving him a glare behind which she tried to hide her fear. "But you. And how will you react once you know about ours."

Hope slightly frowned, puzzled.

"I don't understand…"

She took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.

"Maybe this explains it", she answered drawing her sword and pointing at him with it. "We're as servants of a brand as you. I'm a l'Cie."


	12. L'Cie

"So you are l'Cie", Hope muttered thoughtfully, but still glancing sideways to Lightning's unsheathed sword, even though it no longer pointed at him. "Is that the secret you were keeping all this time?"

Lightning slightly frowned; she was standing up, leaning on her sword; Serah and Snow, meanwhile, were seated on the small couch in Lightning's room. They watched Hope warily and genuinely surprised.

Hours earlier, Lightning, sword in hand, revealed this secret to Hope. A secret that if it were to be revealed to the angel of God would put them in serious danger, because as soon as she did, the first thing he'd do was kill them without hesitation, or hand them over to the Order, because that was his divine role.

Or so they thought…

Because when Lightning revealed to him she was a l'Cie, Hope's only reaction was arching his eyebrows very briefly. He looked blankly at the sword pointing him, tense and undoubtedly scared. That puzzled the young woman more than any other reaction.

"L'Cie?", Hope had asked, his voice tone not changing a bit. "You are one of the Eternals?"

Lightning knew that 'Eternals' was another way of referring to l'Cie, but it wasn't heard often in those days. Once an honorary name for her people, respect for l'Cie had been nothing but dust in the wind for a long, long time.

So it left her almost speechless that the angel of God referred to them with that name. The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly.

"…", she didn't know what to say. "You're… not going to attack me?"

Hope tilted his head. That question seemed to puzzle him more than the fact that Lightning was suddenly threatening him with her sword.

"Why would I do such thing?", the young angel asked cautiously. "I gave you my word that I would never hurt you. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, but…", Lightning shook her head. "That was before you knew what we are! What about your holy mission, or whatever the hell you're supposed to do about us?"

Given that Hope wasn't exactly what we call expressive, this was the moment in which Lightning saw on his face the closest thing to genuine bewilderment. It was almost comical, if the young woman hadn't been left utterly astounded.

"Holy… mission? What are you talking about, Light? I don't understand anything."

Lightning couldn't believe it. Was he deliberately kidding her? Was he waiting for her guard to come down to kill her?

 _"_ _He's too dumb for that"_ , she thought, however.  _"But this… this is unbelievable. How's possible he's not fazed at all about this?"_

"Light", Hope called her quietly; she looked up, startled. "What's wrong? Why are you afraid?"

She cursed him again inwardly. Once again, Hope saw through her. Even though it wasn't exactly him who feared but rather his reaction and consequences, but the truth was that he came pretty close.

But Hope didn't seem hostile at all. In fact, he almost looked… concerned. Lightning couldn't understand it.

"… I'm not afraid", she finally answered, trying to compose herself. "But… I don't understand. I'm a l'Cie, you should… finish me, or attack me, or anything!"

 _"_ _Anything but stand there staring at me!"_ , she wanted to say out loud, but she didn't. Despite the fact he was getting her on her nerves.

The angel blinked. Just once, but it was enough to make clear he understood nothing. He tilted his head, confused.

"… Should I?"

His light-colored eyes were looking at her, wider than usual. Lightning didn't know that to think. She had been ready to defend herself, to kill him on the spot once she revealed her condition and he reacted the way he was supposed to. But this had completely taken her by surprise.

And apparently him as well, because the way he was staring at her and the sword was extremely obvious. And then she thought she understood why: it wasn't that Hope was honoring his promise or anything like that, but he didn't understand why he should hurt a l'Cie.

Could he really not know it? Him? The angel of Bhunivelze himself?

This hypothesis considered, Lightning decided the sensible thing would be talking with Serah and Snow before revealing anything to Hope, just in case. She lowered her sword hesitantly, and gave a rather hard look to the angel.

"… We'll talk later."

And there they were, hours later, Lightning, Serah and Snow, ready to tell Hope a story they never thought before they would do to the servant of God. They had debated whether or not to reveal more than necessary, but in the end they decided to give him a chance. In other circumstances they wouldn't have considered trusting him, but the fact Hope hadn't lifted a finger to attack them after learning they were l'Cie was so unexpected that had been enough to convince them.

"Yes", Serah said in a low voice, feeling a bit more confident when she saw firsthand that Hope wasn't hostile knowing they were l'Cie. "I'm sorry we had to keep it from you, Hope, but… it's not just us. All our friends, they're all l'Cie. We could've endangered our people."

"But why?", Hope tilted his head. "From what you say, I gather that you thought I was going to attack you if that came to my knowledge. But I don't understand why you believed so."

"Because we're l'Cie, man", Snow said; he was the only one who seemed more relaxed, but that was something typical of him. "The Order has always preached that l'Cie defied the will of God and his divine punishment would fall on us by the hand of his angel and stuff."

Hope slightly frowned.

"I have never been ordered to punish the Eternals. I don't understand why the Order would preach the opposite."

"Wait", Lightning interrupted him, surprised. "Are you saying that persecute l'Cie isn't one of your tasks? That the Order has been lying to us?"

"It seems so", the young angel looked down. "It is strange. I don't even know much about your people. Why should I destroy you?"

The three l'Cie looked at each other.

"You don't know much about l'Cie?", Serah repeated; Hope nodded. "How could that be? You're an angel, right? And you said that up until now, you've been observing our world."

"One thing is to observe and a different one is to understand", he replied. "And I can't understand anything if I don't get to hear your words. The only thing I know about Eternals is that you are branded, like angels, and as your name suggests, you are eternal."

"The latter, to a certain degree", Lightning replied somewhat brusquely; Serah looked away. "But our brand isn't like yours. It's really weird you don't know, you're an angel after all, aren't you?"

"I am an angel. But that doesn't mean I am omniscient. Which I am far from being."

Lightning didn't quite believe it. But then she remembered something Hope had told her hours earlier, while discussing about his brand of servitude. He knew only what was necessary for his purpose, and he had said that destroying l'Cie had never been part of it. Which would explain that he didn't know much about her people.

 _"_ _No wonder he's looking at us like that"_ , she thought in disbelief.  _"He doesn't understand why we react this way because he has no idea that whole generations have believed he would be our executioner… Could it be possible that the Order has been toying with us like this? Is our pursuit truly a divine command, or they're acting on their own and betrayed Bhunivelze's will?"_

Luckily, Snow asked the question she had in mind:

"I'm not sure if I got it… If the Order has been telling us nothing but whoppers, does that mean that God doesn't want to destroy us?"

"That I can't know", Hope said. "My status as a servant forbid me to question God, and it wasn't something I would ask myself at the moment. I simply watched your world and noticed him when the balance in the world was in danger."

"You mean you never passed orders from Bhunivelze to the Order?", Lightning asked rather abruptly. Hope felt the anger she emanated, and winced a bit.

"Of course I did. When the energy of the world was unbalanced, my duty was to inform the Order so their mages could solve it. They had to inform me in turn about the appointment of new mediums and High Priestesses, so I could communicate it to God."

The three l'Cie looked at him, not quite believing his words.

"And that's all?", Snow asked him. "So you really never gave them any order to kill or imprison every l'Cie in sight, or confining those who didn't follow the Order's dogmas, or… stuff like that?"

Hope stared at him for a few seconds. Lightning and Serah, who already knew more or less his reactions, were almost sure that the angel was trying to figure out whether Snow was messing with him or not. Though it was true he always felt tenser than usual when he was around Serah's fiancé.

"That's what I've just said."

There was silence again. Hope couldn't lie, as he had proved other times. If that was true, then… the Order had been lying to them for centuries. Rage filled the hearts of the three, full of indignation.

Hope seemed uneasy. Lightning saw him glancing down, looking at his hands with a slight frown. No doubt he was sensing their anger, but there was something different in his expression. It wasn't exactly angry, but somewhere in that line. She wondered if the angel guessed what that revelation implied. He finally knew why they had felt such hostility towards him, and apparently it was all an elaborate hoax around his name.

But in Lightning's eyes, that didn't change too much. The truth was many lives were lost and others' were broken forever in the name of the angel of God. And they couldn't say he'd done much to help them. He had to have witnessed the atrocities against her people, and yet he never acted to prevent it. Which reaffirmed her view that Hope was nothing but an empty shell unable to feel anything.

And, besides… it would be an unthinkable betrayal to her King to sympathize with Bhunivelze's servant.

"We've been played for fools", Snow snorted angrily; it wasn't usual to see him that way. "And what they did to Serah… All was on behalf on a lie!"

Serah's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything about it. She looked up to Hope, and the angel could see in her eyes that the faint spark of anger and fear that up until now had been there was gone.

However, Lightning kept her rigid pose, her sword unsheathed, though she wasn't threatening him with it anymore. Hope sensed her bloodlust had disappeared, but her hatred was still there. And he didn't understand: if it was this farce what made her hate him, why that negative feeling hadn't changed now that the truth was revealed?

He released the air in his lungs with a soft sigh. He felt tense, and realized that this revelation had affected him more than he thought possible. His master called him sometimes the 'hope of humanity' –what had now given him the actual name these humans called him by– and he had just learned in the eyes of the people of Nova Chrysalia he was something like a merciless butcher.

And it was true he had seen images of violence and disaster between humans, but they had been fleeting and without a proper context. In addition, at the time Hope had been nothing more than a servant without any other concern but the alterations in the balance of the world, a task much more relevant than any feud between humans, due to the fragile stability of Nova Chrysalia.

Hope knew little about l'Cie, and he was curious. He understood now why Lightning, Serah and Snow's auras were so different from normal humans: as far as he knew, the magic of l'Cie was extremely powerful in comparison. He watched them closely, wondering where they would sport their brand.

"What makes the Order go after you?", he wanted to know. "As far as I know, Eternals are blessed by the powers of the divine. They should revere you.

"It's been centuries since the last time someone revered us", Lightning answered sarcastically. "The Order fears us, mostly. We're the only remaining threat that had been challenging their lies for hundreds of years now. But they also covet the gifts some of us have."

"Some of you?", he repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah", Serah said quietly. "L'Cie develop some kind of special gift, which is supposed to be unique, though there have been multiple cases in which many l'Cie shared this same power. Some of these gifts are extremely coveted by the Order, who seeks l'Cie bearing those for forcing them to use these gifts for their own benefit, arguing they were given them by Bhunivelze himself and are the only ones who will be forgiven by his angel if they cooperate."

Lightning growled, and Snow put an arm around the shoulders of his fiancé. Hope felt the energy coming from them, he sensed sadness and anger in their hearts. He thought he knew what was happening.

"It happened to you", he muttered, cautiously. "The Order used you in my name."

The three l'Cie looked up at him at once, surprise written in their faces. Lightning was more used to Hope learning to better identify their emotions, but for Snow and Serah this was almost news.

"Not all of us", Lightning said then. "Only my sister. But because of that, her brand awoke. And the Order will pay for this dearly."

Hope glanced towards Serah.

"Your brand awoke?"

"You don't know what it means?", Snow pulled up the left sleeve of his black jacket and showed him his forearm. Thanks to his sharp eyesight, Hope saw a whitish symbol with arrows and what looked like an eye in its center. "See? This is my brand. Brands usually have this color, no matter to what house you belong."

"House?", Hope tilted his head.

"L'Cie may belong to two different houses", Serah chimed in. "We're l'Cie from the House of Pulse, and then there are the ones from the House of Lindzei, though l'Cie from our house are more common. This is the brand of Pulse."

Hope nodded, recognizing the names of the Twin Gods, Pulse and Lindzei. He didn't know much about them, except that they were Bhunivelze's children and they had a sister, the goddess Etro.

"Well, as I was saying, they're usually like this, white", Snow continued. "When we're born, our brand doesn't have arrows or whatever decoration Lindzei's have and they're poorly defined, so it's easily overlooked if you have pale skin. And once we reach a certain age which varies for each l'Cie, then the arrows appear, and we stop aging."

"I see", Hope mused, frowning slightly. "That is why you are known as the Eternals."

"Yeah, but that'd be too good to be true", Lightning gave a short sardonic laugh. "Special gifts, powerful magic, eternal youth… We l'Cie have to pay a price for it, and more times than we would like, that eternity is nothing you would ever want."

Hope looked at her, thoughtfully. All things considered, Lightning was right. Being a l'Cie seemed excessively convenient if thought about it.

"You see, it turns out that the magic within us, once our brand evolves, a part of our soul becomes crystal", Snow told him, leaning on the back of the couch. "You could say we also crystallize because that's when we stop growing old."

"But we also become unstable", Serah explained quietly. "Our auras are more powerful that way because our power is condensed. But when this power is compressed like that, if we lose control of it… then we have to pay somehow."

The young angel listened curiously. He felt Serah's sadness, and he wondered what could have happened to her. Judging by Snow's impotence and Lightning's rage, nothing good.

"How?", he asked.

"We l'Cie can die if murdered or by falling ill, like the rest of humans", Lightning intervened, her voice sharper than usual, "but if we avoid it, we can live forever. Sure, eventually this would be more of a curse than a blessing, so we have the power to, in time, choose to turn into crystal. This way, we really live forever, asleep and dreaming, and  _that's_  why we're called the Eternals."

"But you can only do that if your body is completely pure", Snow added, whose hands were now closed in fists. "When we use our power beyond our capabilities or when it's not the right time, or when we suffer a strong emotional shock, there's the danger of our brand to awake. And when that happens…", Serah's fiancé paused. "Our body begins to slowly turn into crystal, over months and years and even centuries. And if you turn into crystal completely, then you go Cie'th."

Hope knew something about Cie'th. They were beings that used to roam the places where distortions and imbalances happened. Horrible, disfigured, aggressive creatures covered in crystals.

"So Cie'th are l'Cie?", the angel looked surprised.

"They were", Lightning pointed out. "If you become Cie'th, your soul is basically destroyed. They suffer terribly, they don't remember anything or anyone and only feel pain, so they attack everything that moves. The best thing you can do is stab them with a sword and end their torment."

"But the process is slow, and as it advances it's more and more painful", Snow continued talking. "Your flesh begins to turn into crystal, and slowly transforms you. If that happens to you, no matter how little, you no longer can enter crystal stasis. It can be reversed, but it's pretty difficult and not everyone has enough self-control and emotional stability to do it."

Serah nodded slightly. Hope thought he knew now what happened to the younger Farron sister.

"Is that what happened to you? Your brand awoke and you are turning into a Cie'th?"

Lightning and Snow glanced alternately to Serah and the angel. She took a while to answer, but she finally looked up at him.

"Yes", she said; she took away the bracelet that covered her left bicep and showed to him an identical brand to Snow's, but in her case, it was pitch-black and the eye on its center was blood-red colored. Around it, her skin was covered with small purplish-blue crystals. "You see? It was more widespread before, but I've been trying to reverse the process for some time now. If I succeed, my brand will go dormant again."

"It's possible to the brand to go dormant without reverting the Cie'th process, but as you may guess, no l'Cie would fancy the idea of being half-crystal. The problem is that, as Snow just told you, not everyone can do it", Lightning said then, looking away from the crystallized skin of her sister.

Hope was watching her curiously, until Serah covered her brand again. He remembered then that they've mentioned that the Order had caused Lightning's sister to begin becoming Cie'th, and he couldn't help but wonder why they would have done so.

"Why did your brand awake? You told me it is caused by your magic going out of control or a strong emotional shock", the angel asked. "Were any of those things what the Order did to you?"

"Both", Lightning said, trying to restrain her anger at the simple memory. "As we've told you before, all l'Cie have some kind of special gift. For Serah, it's the gift of prophecy, so she's what we call a Seer."

Hope cocked his head.

"A Seer? You can see the future?"

"That's right", Serah replied, squinting wearily. "It's one of the rarest gifts among l'Cie, so you can guess it's highly coveted. But it's also a gift that makes us Seers very sensitive and vulnerable because of the things we can witness and the fact it drains us our life force, so it's more likely our brand awakes."

"It doesn't have to if you're careful and train yourself to control your emotions and the flow of magic", Snow added, and his hand closed into a fist. "But what the Order did to Serah would awake anyone's brand."

"They somehow found out I was a Seeress, so I was captured and taken to the Cathedral", Serah explained, taking a deep breath. "In their words, they knew I was from a divine revelation from the angel of God. They said a prophecy was demanded to me, and I refused because in truth I have no control over my visions, they happen when they have to. But they forced me to", the younger Farron trembled, and Hope sensed her fear and pain. "Their mages put on me some kind of mental torture until they seized my magic and exploit it so they got the prophecy they wanted. Then my brand awoke, and when my sister and Snow rescued me, all my bicep and part of my shoulder had already turned to crystal. It was such a quick transformation."

The young angel didn't know what to say. That sounded awfully cruel even to him, an emotionless being. He hadn't felt sympathy towards the Order back when he had been Bhunivelze's servant and messenger, but now he couldn't help wondering how much evil they had done to the people of Nova Chrysalia… on his name.

"I was made to believe you ordered my kidnapping and torture, Hope", Serah continued sadly, "and for a long time I cursed you like my sister and Snow did. But in the end you hadn't been there forcing me to use my gift and I granted you the benefit of doubt when we brought you home and knew who you were. Now I'm glad I did, if I'm honest, because from what you've told us, if we killed you, we'd have taken away an innocent life."

"I don't know if you should consider me innocent", Hope murmured. "I was supposed to protect the world and all living things. I didn't like much humans back then because you destroy more than you preserve, but now that I have been living among you for some time I realize the extent of my ignorance. And all this you have told me…", the angel shook his head. "I knew nothing. Your race hates me, and perhaps you are right. I could have told God. He could have done something."

"Who? Bhunivelze? Bah!", Lightning snorted in contempt. "The gods don't give a damn about us. You really are naïve enough to believe that Bhunivelze would've lifted one of his shiny fingers to help? To lend a hand to us l'Cie?"

"It is true that God doesn't usually care about human affairs", Hope admitted hesitantly. "He has to attend much more transcendental questions. But still…"

He trailed off, and that was unusual for him, Lightning noted. Hope usually explained himself quite clearly, despite being brief in general. The fact that he didn't finish a sentence wasn't normal.

 _"_ _It's not surprising"_ , the young woman thought, looking inquisitively at him.  _"If he's telling the truth, he's just found out they have been using his name to commit all kinds of abuse on the world he's technically tasked to protect. But he's right, he could've done something about it if he weren't a damn empty, emotionless shell."_

"I don't understand how it has come to this", Hope finally said, shaking his head. "And how I didn't know all this. Why is the Order that cruel towards the Eternals? Your gifts come from the Twin Gods. They should respect you, at least."

Lightning, Serah and Snow shared a look. So far they had believed the angel of God must have known, but according to him, he merely observed events without truly understanding what he saw. And after all, the story of the current plight of l'Cie was also the story of how their people had come to hate him. Hope had the right to know how and why his name was cursed by all people in Nova Chrysalia that didn't follow the Order's rules.

"It's a long story", Lightning replied crossing her arms and giving him a fierce glare. "And I don't think you'll find it pleasant in many ways."

Hope returned her a clear and determined look. Lightning had never noticed before how big his eyes really were.

"I think I have to know. I can't, and I don't want, to remain in ignorance anymore. Please, tell me."

His answer surprised, once again, the young woman. She had to make an effort to keep the cold and distant demeanor on.  _"Damn angel"_ , she thought, irritated.

Serah smiled softly, and Snow nodded letting out a brief laugh.

"Okay, Hope", Serah said. "We'll tell you."


	13. Past

"We'll start from the beginning of all", Serah said, clasping her hands. "It's a complicated story, and none of us know exactly all details. What we'll tell you is a compendium of historical facts and legends, okay?"

Hope nodded. He had sat up on bed as much as the wounds on his back allowed him, and listened intently. The three l'Cie had decided to delay the conversation for an hour to have lunch and think about how to tell the angel the story of how Nova Chrysalia was now under the rule of the Order. He had agreed, as he also needed time to process what he had been told.

 _"_ _Humans hate me"_ , Hope thought over and over, as Lightning, Serah and Snow ate in the kitchen.  _"Many wrongs have been committed in my name, and I didn't even know. If the divine duty God entrusted me with was to protect all living beings, I have failed my purpose indeed…"_

But how he would have known? The magic sphere in the Ark only showed him glimpses of what was happening in the world. True, he would invoke them at will, but he rarely had done so. He observed humans fight each other and cause destruction, but he considered it nothing more but the result of their chaotic nature. He had to protect all life, and he couldn't do anything about beings that killed each other because of their own decision, unless they threatened the lives of other creatures. At least, that was he had thought.

But this was completely different. The Order was supposed to follow Bhunivelze's designs: protecting his creation. One thing was humans fighting each other for no other reason than simply their free will, but twisting the word of God and use the name of his angel to subjugate all other life forms… Hope didn't quite understand why. He had given them messages from Bhunivelze to protect life from the magical or natural disasters that plagued their unstable world relatively often.

The young angel had spent his entire life watching from the background, without hearing nor understanding. He had always believed in peace and balance, and his negative opinion of humans had relied on his own experience in life until then. But now that he was part of their world, he was checking firsthand that perhaps those concepts were no more than a chimera.

Snow's loud voice interrupted the course of his thoughts:

"Well, most likely we'll end up telling you things you already know if you've been watching our world. But since you said you couldn't listen to any word, this'll help you better understand for sure, what do you say?"

"That sounds good to me", Hope said once he composed himself after the startle; Snow's voice always made him feel uncomfortable. "I appreciate it."

Lightning was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and watching him like a hawk. Hope saw that she wasn't wielding her sword, but it was unsheathed close to her. He felt a twinge in his chest: he felt her distrust, and that caused him a strange and unpleasant sensation. Of course, luck didn't seem to be on his side. He had lost everything to meet her and, despite his advances, she only radiated negativity towards him.

"I guess you know better than anyone the stories about the origin of the world", Serah began, looking at Hope almost as if she was apologizing. "The god Bhunivelze molded the Cosmic Chaos that gave life to him to form matter, creating the universe and all celestial bodies."

"Yes, I know", the angel muttered. "I don't know the details and I never heard mention the Cosmic Chaos, but I know the genesis overall."

"You never heard of it?", Serah briefly looked surprised, but she immediately smiled. "It's not we can say we know what is it. We assume it's a primal and chaotic force as its name suggests, that was there prior to the existence of everything. But it has to be powerful enough to have given life to an almighty being like Bhunivelze. In fact, apparently God could never truly submit it to his will, since this force caused destruction on all things he created."

"And for that reason Bhunivelze created his children", Lightning continued. "Pulse and Lindzei, which as you say they're the Twin Gods, and the goddess Etro. All three of them were the first fal'Cie."

Hearing this, Hope looked up and slightly frowned.

"Fal'Cie?", he repeated cautiously. "The demons? Are you saying the children of God are part of them?"

"Ah, so you didn't know? Tch, no wonder you call them 'demons', because the truth is that the gods love cursing their name", Lightning let out a wry chuckle. "I guess Bhunivelze has told you countless times how bad they are, right?"

"One of my tasks was to detect fal'Cie activity in your world", Hope replied, still looking at them in disbelief. "God said they were 'demons' and that they were evil and treacherous. But I never sensed anything related to them."

Serah smiled.

"There's an explanation for that. You see, God created Pulse and Lindzei and tasked them to protect his creation from the influence of the Cosmic Chaos: Pulse gave form to solid matter, and Lindzei preserved it. Meanwhile, Etro had to control the flow of Cosmic Chaos into the world because Bhunivelze realized his creations were sustained by it after all."

"But this isn't the only world that exists in God's creation", Snow said, "so Lindzei and Pulse created their own fal'Cie to do their work in Nova Chrysalia. This also tells how our race was born, 'cause it's said Etro was envious of her siblings and wanted to do the same, but it went wrong and humans were born from her experiment, who knows how."

Hope listened intently. Somehow he understood that humans and fal'Cie weren't so different.  _"It could be said, they are failed fal'Cie"_ , he thought.

"All this is mythology, in any case", Serah noted, "but it's what has been told since humans started to gather and record data. Call it a context for the subsequent historical events."

"You say it is mythology", Hope observed thoughtfully, "but the Twin Gods, the demons–"

"Stop calling the fal'Cie 'demons'", Lightning cut him sharply. "They aren't precisely subject of our devotion, but we owe much to them."

"… Fal'Cie", the angel corrected himself, a bit shyly, "and gods, all of them exist. That you know."

"Of course we know, man. What we consider mythology are the facts, not that they exist or not", Snow laughed. "All this it's things people say, but the question is, people and fal'Cie have believed on them since they can remember."

"I see", Hope said. "Thus the unknown parts of history are supplied."

"Yes, it's exactly that", Serah smiled encouragingly. "Now for what it's the proved story itself. The truth is at that time, about 130000 years ago, humans weren't nearly as advanced and intelligent as they are now. So the fal'Cie that Pulse and Lindzei created and were living in this world long before Etro tried her experiment, as Snow said, considered us as defective, and they enslaved us."

"We had our towns and villages, but we were under fal'Cie dominion. They ruled us and made us work for their own purposes", Lightning explained. "But they saw potential in us and thought that maybe we could be helpful in their task of modeling and protecting Nova Chrysalia, and began to take outright servants. This is how we l'Cie appeared."

"How?", Hope wanted to know, intrigued.

"We don't know for sure, but we believe that a very powerful Pulse fal'Cie called Pandaemonium, who had some power over the Cosmic Chaos, cast a spell on our race giving us part of it", Serah said. "Magic, that is, the control over the energy and matter, comes from this primal force. According to the tales, this caused both humans to be able to use it, and the birth of l'Cie, since after all we're still human but with superior magic power and a few other singularities."

Hope thought for a second about that.

"You could say that dem– I mean, that fal'Cie, gave humans power over the Cosmic Chaos. And l'Cie are a step above the rest of other humans because they have more."

"Yes, I guess you could say that", Serah nodded. "But returning to topic, since Pandaemonium's spell l'Cie started to be born, children bearing the brand and having a vastly superior magic power than others of the same race. Since there were so many million fal'Cie in the world, from minor ones to the most powerful, began to make of l'Cie their servants. Each fal'Cie had its own, and there were still many who didn't have any at all. And they were obviously replaced eventually, because as we already told you we're not immortal."

"This lasted several millennia until humans started to develop their own culture and ideas and principles. Of course, they didn't quite match with the fal'Cie rule, who saw them as little more than supplemental workforce", Lightning gestured wryly. "By then us l'Cie weren't as enslaved as they once were by fal'Cie, so our people could back up the human rebellion."

"There was a war, then", Hope muttered, frowning. He had never liked the idea of war.

"And such a long one", Snow pointed, and laughed briefly. "It lasted for a few millennia, literally. Fal'Cie were so powerful, indeed. But after all l'Cie were the only ones who could face them, and when they fell in battle the rebellion had to wait for more to be born, and we aren't exactly plentiful. Being born l'Cie is a completely random fact, it's not hereditary. In fact, it's pretty rare that more than one l'Cie is born in the same generation of a family, as it happens with Serah and Sis."

"I'm not your sister."

Snow continued as if there had been no interruption:

"Thing is, for a long time fal'Cie and humans fought each other, and we had to admit as much heroic we make sound our fight for freedom, the truth is that fal'Cie were winning by far. But that changed when Pulse and Lindzei saw the mess we created and thought the Cosmic Chaos overtook us and for solving the problem the best would be to destroy the world and start it from scratch."

Hope tilted his head.

"But they didn't."

"Not because they didn't try", Lightning snorted. "But because of this we're indebted to fal'Cie, even though it annoys us to no end. When they learned of their creators' plans, most of them were as indignant as us, perhaps even more. They claimed they shaped Nova Chrysalia and had protected it during the time their masters abandoned them, so they firmly believed they had a lot more right to decide the fate of their world. Many decided to turn against them, and luckily for us in that faction there were several quite powerful fal'Cie."

"An alliance we never thought would happen was forged then", Serah said, smiling. "The old king of Luxerion, which at that time was a rebellious town, and his daughter, who was a l'Cie, had a meeting with the two most powerful rebel fal'Cie of each house: Fenrir from the House of Pulse, and Phoenix from the House of Lindzei. And a pact between both sides to fight the Twin Gods and their loyal fal'Cie was made."

"They united against a common enemy", Hope mused, surprised. "What was the agreement?"

"Humans would be free and able to decide their own fate", Lightning replied, "and fal'Cie would protect us without intervening if we helped them in the preservation of the world they considered theirs. L'Cie also would be freed, something that fal'Cie didn't care about anymore since long before then, as they had their angels."

At that revelation, Hope sat up almost like a spring, which caused him a sharp pain in his back due to his sudden movement. He stifled a cry and forced himself to relax his body, something that was pretty difficult because of the reaction that those words made occur inside him, while the three l'Cie looked at him, puzzled.

"… Angels?", Hope repeated, trying to catch his breath. "Did you say angels?"

"Yeah, I did", Lightning raised her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you didn't know you're not the only one that has ever existed. In our last conversation it seemed to me you knew."

"I know the general concept about what concerns me. But I've never been aware of the existence of other angels", the young angel shook his head, his eyes wide.  _"If what they say is true, I am not alone. There are more like me."_

"It's understandable, Hope", Serah chimed in gently. "It's almost mythology after all. The writings of that time never specified whether angels were actually fal'Cie in winged human forms, or if they were a separate species. Although after having met you, we could consider the official version the latter, because you're not a fal'Cie. But what it's stated in historical records that considered the separate species version is that they were created by fal'Cie. It gives no more details, but I guess the definition matches you."

"That is correct", Hope nodded, quietly. "I was created by God."

Lightning huffed. The angel sensed her disdain, and he felt again that painful twinge in his chest.

"Not that we wanna disappoint you, man", Snow intervened scratching the back of his neck, "but the thing is that angels disappeared from Nova Chrysalia thousands of years ago. No one knows why, if they died or they simply hid themselves from the world. Bet that's why you've never seen them."

Hope looked down. He didn't want to have any expectation, but the simple idea of him being not the only one of his kind would leave an open door in the case Bhunivelze didn't intend to take him back to the Ark.

"You say angels were servants of fal'Cie", he said, trying to redirect the topic to not think too much about it.

"Yeah, and a lot more powerful than l'Cie, so that's why fal'Cie didn't have us in the same high esteem anymore and gave us a little more freedom", Lightning said. "Their appearance was what allowed us to rebel, and during the war against the Twin Gods they helped us and acted as mediators between humans and fal'Cie on our side. There were some who even turned against their fal'Cie in the opposing side to join us. For a long time, until the Order rose to power, angels were considered divine heroes."

'Until the Order rose to power' meant until his name was used to commit injustice, Hope deduced. Somehow he felt the honor of his kind was tainted because of him. He was feeling increasingly worse.

"Fighting Pulse and Lindzei and their fal'Cie wasn't an advantage for us", Serah said, and sighed. "So our fal'Cie had an idea so at least humans and l'Cie would survive. They decided to transfer all their power to the two fal'Cie that led them, who would sacrifice themselves to defeat the Twin Gods and the other fal'Cie at once, and only one of them would remain active as a representative of their kind. Fenrir and Phoenix challenged Pulse and Lindzei in an open field, and then merged together to attack them with all their great power and the other fal'Cie on our side's."

"To be honest, it was a total catastrophe", Snow laughed half-heartedly. "Imagine an entire planet colliding against another, 'cause that's more or less what happened. The blast erased the moon from the map, it virtually sank all land into the sea except our continent, and forever altered Nova Chrysalia's stability. Fenrir and Phoenix were destroyed, but they managed to defeat Pulse and Lindzei and sealed them into another dimension. And all fal'Cie except Pandaemonium, which is the only one remaining active, crystallized after lending them all their power."

Surprise made Hope's face darken briefly. He began to understand why the world was so unstable. Something able to banish the Twin Gods could perfectly destroy the harmony of the space-time continuum forever.

"The point is that was the beginning of a new era for humanity. The king of Luxerion had died during the war in battle, so his daughter, Queen Eleanora, took the crown. She became queen of both humans and l'Cie, and with her the Dynasty of the Rising Star was born", Lightning's eyes featured a strange spark, almost nostalgic. "It was the golden age of humans and l'Cie. Pandaemonium honored the pact Eleanora and her father forged with Fenrir and Phoenix, and watched over the world helping to rebuild it thanks to his power over the Cosmic Chaos."

"The Dynasty of the Rising Star always supported actively the independence of both humans and l'Cie, so they protected all of us from cults that preached servitude to the gods", Snow continued. "The Order of Salvation, which now rules over Nova Chrysalia, was the most prominent of all, but all kings and queens of the Rising Star faced them firmly for the good of all mankind."

"But now they are the ones who rule over it", Hope noted, confused. "If your kings and queens fought against them, why the Order is reigning now?"

The three l'Cie looked at each other. Hope sensed their frustration, anger and in Lightning's case, hatred and pain.

"The Order seized power when the Dynasty and its last member disappeared 3131 years ago", Serah replied sadly. "Since then they destroyed any records they could find about the Rising Star and the golden age, pursued l'Cie who were always protected by the Dynasty and their most valued warriors, and impose the worship to God. In his name and yours, Hope, they had been all this time justifying their crimes."

"Wait", Hope tilted his head. "You said it has been 3113 years since the Order seized power. Have they been using my name since then?"

Serah frowned, puzzled by the question. Lightning and Snow looked questioningly at Hope.

"I don't know that… Why do you ask?"

"Because that would be impossible", the young angel replied flatly. "I didn't exist 3131 years ago. My earliest memories date from a few centuries after the Order began to rule."

This was Lightning, Serah and Snow's time to be left speechless. All three of them stared at him, mouth open and pale.

"You're kidding me, right?", Snow couldn't believe it. "You're saying everything we've told you… you didn't know?"

"That's what I'm saying. I gather that my creation dates from centuries after the Order rose to power because I remember them ruling over Nova Chrysalia since the moment I opened my eyes. But all you have spoken about is new to me", Hope frowned.

"So…", Serah's face was as white as a sheet, her eyes fixed on him. "The creation of the world, the wars, the golden age, the Order's foundation… You never saw any of it? You didn't heard of it?"

"Never once. I only knew what God deemed I had to know, Serah."

A sudden movement caught Hope's attention at his side. When he turned his head, the young angel noticed Lightning had come closer, extremely pale, her eyes staring at him and full of rage, bewilderment, indignation and, above all, that deep pain and longing he had sensed when they had first mentioned the Dynasty of the Rising Star.

"You…", began the young woman, her voice sharp and menacing, but also slightly broken. "You… You mean that Bhunivelze… that conceited bastard… never deemed important to tell his servant… about the existence of the greatest of his enemies? That he never told you about King Mikhail?"

Hope, who had moving backwards instinctively as much as his position on the bed and his wounds allowed him as Lightning came closer, tilted his head blankly.

"King Mikhail?", he repeated, looking at her with those eyes that always seemed larger when the angel didn't understand what was happening.

Lightning stopped. Hope could sense the flood of feelings that the simple name caused within the young woman, and he was overwhelmed by the torrent of nostalgia and pain that was coursing through her and he was able to feel. He saw her tremble with rage, her blue eyes flashing, but at the same time the angel saw they were slightly watery. He noticed her right hand closing in a fist, and he realized what Lightning was about to do when she raised it. He instinctively closed his eyes and braced himself for the punch.

"Sis!" he heard Serah shout; Hope dared to open an eye and saw that both her and Snow were holding back Lightning's raised arm. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

"C'mon, sis! Don't take it so hard!"

Lightning struggled and freed herself from their grasp, gasping for breath. She glared at Hope, though the angel didn't feel hatred towards him. It was indignation, anger and, mainly, pain.

"King Mikhail… forgotten by everyone. Even by that Bhunivelze wretch… and his servant doesn't even know he existed once", she shook her head and turned her back to them as she walked toward the door. "But… I  _won't_  allow this to go further."

"Light…", Hope began, perhaps trying to apologize, but he was too late: the young woman had already left the room slamming the door behind her. The angel flinched at the loud sound.

Serah and Snow, by his side, shared a meaningful look. Hope stared at the door, confused, not knowing what he had done wrong.

"Sorry, man. Don't take it personal", Snow put a hand on his shoulder when he realized his expression; Hope winced at the physical contact. "Sis always gets like this when this stuff is brought up."

"She feels such horrible pain", the angel narrowed his eyes, breathless, and put a hand over his chest. "I never saw her this way. She's strong. Why?"

Serah smiled sadly and looked away, sighing in resignation.

"We all have our weaknesses, Hope, no matter how strong we are", she told him, as gently as she could. "My sister's is King Mikhail."


	14. Heart

For nearly three days Lightning didn't come back home after that conversation. Serah had to take care of changing the bandages and healing the wounds of Hope, who barely uttered a word after the young woman left abruptly after attempting to punch him. He kept looking at the door of the room, with that gleam in his eyes that Serah knew it was concern, and guilt as well, and he winced every time someone entered the room.

"It's not your fault", Serah had told Hope for the umpteenth time the morning of the second day as she healed him. "Don't torment yourself. My sister knows she can't blame you."

"But she is gone", he muttered. "And she doesn't come back."

"She'll return", Serah said with a reassuring smile. "It's not the first time she does this. I'm sure she's gone somewhere to be alone and vent."

Hope glanced at her. He clearly sensed that the younger Farron sister wasn't being completely honest.

"You are worried about her."

Serah sighed.

"Of course I am. But Lightning isn't a little girl and she can take care of herself. I have to think she's okay… physically, at least. Because emotionally… well, I'm not so sure."

Hope narrowed his eyes and put a hand to his chest, breathing deeply. He still remembered the pain he felt in Lightning's heart when the name of that king was mentioned.

"Why? Why does Light suffer so much? I don't like that she suffers."

"Neither do I, Hope", Serah said, smiling sadly at the innocence with which the young angel said this, "but it's not something that neither you nor I can solve. She's the one who has to do it."

He frowned, undoubtedly wondering why.

"I don't understand."

"She would explain it better than I do", Serah told him bandaging his back again; his wounds looked better, but they still bled after a month, which made very clear that they would take a very long time to heal. "Furthermore, it's a personal matter that I shouldn't tell you without her consent."

Hope didn't want to comment on that, but he didn't think Lightning would explain anything to him. More likely was that once she came back home, she gave him the punch she couldn't give before.

 _"_ _But when she looked at me…"_ , the angel thought, recalling the moment when their eyes met after Lightning got away from Serah and Snow.  _"There wasn't hatred inside her when she tried to hit me. It was as if she felt such rage and frustration that she had to release it against the closest thing she had at the moment…"_

And all that pain and longing… Hope didn't understand much about human emotions and he didn't know much about Lightning's past, but he suspected it had to do with something she greatly cherished and she lost, and had been suffering for it for so long.

Once Serah left the room after closing the curtains so the sunlight didn't bother him, Hope laid his head on the pillow and let out a soft sigh, staring at the ceiling.

_"_ _Perhaps I should have let her hit me. Not that I haven't earned it."_

* * *

Lightning shook her head briefly before crossing the threshold of her house the night of the second day. She didn't really want to answer to anyone, although she knew Serah would demand an explanation and the truth was she had every reason. No doubt she would be worried, but Lightning couldn't help it. She had needed all those hours to think about what she had learned… and reaffirm her determination.

 _"_ _Been a while since the last time I almost lost control like that"_ , the young woman thought carefully closing the door behind her to be quiet, just in case her sister and Snow were sleeping.  _"If I keep this up, my brand will awake, and I can't allow that to happen."_

She walked across the hallway, walking as silently as she could. She went to the kitchen, where she found the leftovers of dinner: apparently Serah and Snow had already dined. But she wasn't exactly hungry, so she just opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of fresh water. She drank thirstily until she left it half empty.

"Sis!", she heard someone say from her back, startling her. She turned around and found Serah there, dressed in her nightgown and her eyes a bit sleepy, but deeply relieved. "You're finally back!"

"Serah…", she began, feeling guilty for worrying her sister, but Serah kindly raised a hand.

"No need to explain anything to me, I know why you left. But I've been worried about you… Where have you been?"

"At Noel's pub", she said, calmer now that she hadn't to explain herself. "He let me stay there and didn't ask me many questions, you know how he is. Who did question me was Fang, though. She didn't leave me alone until I tell them what happened."

"And you told them?", Serah frowned. "Everything Hope told us?"

"I had no choice. It's impossible to make Fang change opinions when she gets something on her head", Lightning snorted. "Anyway, they helped me vent a bit."

"That's good. And what did they say about it?"

Lightning looked away.

"That as long as Hope helps us we have to take the chance. And that we're always in time to kill him if he betrays us."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part", Serah made a displeased gesture, and changed topics. "He's been worried about you. You should go see him to calm him down, and apologize to him as well."

The young woman squinted as if she were struggling with herself, but finally sighed:

"I know. Even though it annoys me, he's not to blame for this. Bhunivelze is, as always."

"I'm glad to see that for once you're reasonable about him", Serah said, a bit slyly but smiling gently. "Come on, go. I'm going back to bed."

"Right. Goodnight, Serah", Lightning paused, and smiled at her. "And thank you."

Her sister smiled back and hugged her briefly before leaving the kitchen.

"You're welcome, sis. And goodnight to you, too."

Lightning stayed a little more in the kitchen, not quite knowing what to do. It was true that it hadn't been right at all to try punching Hope, but after wishing to do it for over a month, now she found very uncomfortable the idea of apologizing for it.

Then again, if she thought about it… Most of the reasons for why she had wanted to hit him had ended up not being his doing, if Hope was telling the truth. And actually at that moment who truly earned the punch was Bhunivelze, not the poor angel.

And besides she needed his help in the matter she had pursued for so long. And of all things she could have done, she had tried to  _punch him_.  _"How smart of you, Lightning"_ , she chided herself.

She sighed, going upstairs to the side of the upper floor where the bedrooms were located. Trying to be quiet to not waking up Snow and Serah in the case she was already asleep, she went to her own room. She hesitated before opening the door, but she pushed away the reticence of her mind and peered cautiously into the room.

As always, Hope was lying on her bed, but at this late hour it was unusual to see him awake as he was now. He lied on his back, but his head was turned on the pillow, staring absently at the moonlight that went through the curtains with a slightly grim expression. His eyes were narrowed and he looked thoughtful, or maybe concerned.

"Hope", she called him softly once she convinced herself she had to be honest with him. The young angel, startled, sat up on the bed, gasping in pain as the wounds on his back protested at the sudden movement.

"Light! …", his voice sounded a bit more energetic than usual, something that surprised Lightning because his tone usually was extremely serene, almost monotonous. "You're back…"

"Yeah", Lightning decided to go in, carefully closing the door behind her, and went to the bed; she noticed that Hope flinched at every step she advanced, and shook her head when she realized that he most likely feared to get the punch she couldn't give him before. "Stop doing that. I'm not going to punch you, so calm down."

Hope looked at her with curiosity and some disbelief. Although Lightning didn't precisely like the angel, she realized that Hope respected her too much, if not he outright feared her. She knew that scaring her enemies saved their lives on more than one occasion, but at that point she wasn't that sure that Hope was an enemy.

"You are better", the angel murmured; it was a statement, not a question. "Not completely, but better indeed. That is good."

"L'Cie have to learn to control their emotions", Lightning explained without really knowing how to answer to his words, sitting on the edge of the bed, "because we depend on it for our brand to stay inactive. But the other day I was about to lose control. It hadn't happened to me for a long time… I thought I could control myself completely."

"I sensed it", Hope said cautiously. "I didn't know that it had been a long time, but I felt what you felt at that moment."

Lightning looked at him. Hope seemed affected, and it wasn't difficult to understand why. Though that implied the angel was able to figure out better than anyone the feelings she wanted to hide so much. Pain, bitterness, longing… All that made her look weak, and the young woman couldn't allow it. But it was no use to try hiding them from Hope, though he didn't identify them well, which in a way was a relief for her.

"I guess I owe you an apology", she sighed, looking away. "Not only because you had to endure pain that isn't yours, but because I tried to hit you. It was stupid, and you're not to blame for this. It wasn't you who I wanted to punch, I just… I don't know, maybe vent my rage against the first thing I found."

"Or maybe against something that reminded you of God", Hope suggested softly. She turned to him, surprised. "You cursed his name. You blamed him. I was the closest thing to him you had."

Lightning pondered his words. Perhaps Hope was right… and not only about the punch, but everything else as well. Of course at first she couldn't have known, but even if it had been the case, Hope was still Bhunivelze's servant: if the Order's tyranny had been ordered by him, the angel wouldn't have been but the mere channel, not the issuer. She had no sympathy for him because she still thought he could've done something and the fact he didn't made him the being without will she despised, but it was also true that Hope had long been enduring the hatred not only from her, but from many people, without being directly responsible for all the things he was accused of.

"Maybe", she merely answered, reluctant to admit it. "In any case, I admit it wasn't right", she paused, reticent, but she eventually gave in. "… I'm sorry."

Hope narrowed his eyes and looked at her tilting his head. Lightning sighed as she realized the angel didn't believe she truly felt sorry and was trying to probe her aura.

"Would you stop doing that? I'm apologizing for real, idiot."

"Sorry", Hope looked away immediately. "I just didn't expect you to apologize. Though there is nothing about you should apologize to me."

This time it was Lightning who was surprised. Knowing that Hope couldn't lie, that line meant much more than the same on from a normal person. And being objective, she was sure the angel had more than one reason to feel offended at her.

"Really? I tried to punch you, and you say I have nothing to apologize for?"

"That's what I said", Hope stared at her again, that way that got the young woman on her nerves. "You got angry because I didn't recognize a name that meant a lot to you. So technically it is my fault."

 _"_ _What kind of logic is that?"_ , a puzzled Lightning asked herself, not quite believing what she heard. Was Hope truly placing the blame on him for it? She couldn't help but wonder if they wouldn't be inducing into him an excessive guilt complex through all the things they had told him.

She shook her head and frowned, looking severely at him:

"In any case, Bhunivelze would be to blame for not telling you. If you were born centuries after King Mikhail's fall, you couldn't possibly know if he didn't tell you."

Hope grew thoughtful.

"I was created with the complete knowledge of certain things. But at the end of the day everything I know is a decision of God. What I know about things I haven't witnessed is completely what he deemed I needed to know."

"You already told us. And King Mikhail wasn't one of them", Lightning closed a fist, anger quickly building up inside her; Hope backed away a bit when he realized. "I told you I won't punch you, Hope. Stop it."

The young angel looked at her, unconvinced. After a few moments, Lightning seemed to relax, but he could feel once again pain, frustration and longing in her heart. They were confusing energies he hadn't begun to decipher yet, but were so intense he had no doubts about what they were. And they always appeared whenever that name was mentioned.

"You suffer because of that king", he said quietly; she turned to him with a fierce gleam in her eyes. "Mikhail is his name, right?"

Lightning didn't answer quickly. Her expression was cold and defiant, but Hope stared back innocently waiting for the answer. And the angel felt perfectly that the young woman was debating between answering him or not.

In the end, her weakness prevailed. Lightning hunched her shoulders and lowered her head, letting out a sigh tinged with sadness. Hope sensed that sadness with crystal clarity, and briefly brought a hand to his bandaged chest: for a moment it had left him breathless.

"Yes", the young woman whispered, her voice slightly shaking.

"Is he the one to blame for your pain?", Hope wanted to know; if not because it seemed impossible, Lightning would've thought there was the faintest tinge of hardness in his usually calm tone. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, not in the way you think", Lightning shook her head, fearing that Hope got the wrong idea. "It's a very… complicated story."

Hope cocked his head in uncertainty, but stared at her with that spark of curiosity in his light-colored eyes, which in the moonlight looked even brighter.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She hesitated.

"Actually, the fair thing would be to tell you, you know… Because it has something to do with you."

"With me?", the angel blinked. "But I know nothing about King Mikhail."

Lightning hesitated again. She'd never told anyone that story before; her friends only knew the part that concerned her. They already knew plenty of the few remaining legends about the king that symbolized their cause. But somehow, she felt that the right thing to do was telling Hope.

"You see…", the young woman took a deep breath, thinking the best way to summarize it to him. "As I guess you remember from our conversation, Mikhail was the last member of the Dynasty of the Rising Star. He was the one who took the throne at the youngest age, and undoubtedly the most loved by his people. He was a great sage, and he fought relentlessly against anyone who tried to subdue his people to the gods. His reign is remembered among those who still know his name as the true golden age of humanity."

"But he died", Hope noted. She waved in pain, but she shook her head.

"We actually don't know. Any documents record his death, so we have always considered him as missing."

"But he lived 3131 years ago from what you told me. Humans don't live much."

"He was a l'Cie, just like us" Lightning replied. "The first l'Cie born in the Dynasty since his ancestor, the one who began it, so for the first time in many centuries the Rising Star ruled once more over both humans and l'Cie. And time isn't exactly lethal to l'Cie. Which leaves only three options. I'm sure you remember them."

Hope tried to recall the conversation in which she, Snow and Serah told him about the Eternals.

"Either you become crystal, or you turn into a Cie'th."

"Either that, or we die because of some illness, or we're killed", Lightning shook her head. "There's no information on the fact Mikhail could've been ill, so we always discard that hypothesis. He could be alive somewhere in the world even though we've looked everywhere for him. But he could've entered crystal stasis or gone Cie'th… or he could've been killed by the Order when they seized power."

There was true, deep rage in her voice. Hope had never seen the usually stoic Lightning with such raw emotions inside her.

"Our group aims to bring back the rightful King of Nova Chrysalia to overthrow the Order", Lightning continued. "My sister and I, Snow, several friends and some agents in different places of the continent… we're all part of this group. We've long been in the shadows fighting the Order and protecting Pandaemonium, the last fal'Cie, from their grasp. But the truth is that we're nothing against the Order's power. We need to find a way to bring back Mikhail… He's our only real possibility to restore in Nova Chrysalia freedom for both humans and l'Cie."

Her words were steady, but her voice wasn't so. It had broken slightly in the last words, and the emotions Hope was sensing in her aura had become even more confusing, pain predominating, as Lightning lately seemed to constantly feel.

He frowned a bit, his lips parted, as if he were to say something and not knowing how. Which was actually true because what Hope began to think it was something that if not for his –still brief– coexistence with humans, and particularly in the last days thanks to Snow's presence, he wouldn't even have thought of it.

But the idea of Lightning feeling that… The angel felt a strange twinge in his chest he thought he had felt before.

"That is not the only reason why you want to bring Mikhail back", he muttered. "Am I right?"

Lightning looked up at him, stunned. Hope's keen eyesight allowed him to notice, not without surprise, a faint blush on her cheeks.  _"Humans turn red when they are embarrassed"_ , the angel thought, looking curiously at her.  _"Or when they feel hot. But now it is not hot."_

"What…?", she began, almost breathlessly. "What are you…?"

Hope's eyes seemed to stare directly into her soul and read it like a book.

"You love him, right?", the angel asked in the same soft voice. "Mikhail, I mean."

The young woman was left speechless, her blush deepening. It was incredible Hope had gone so deep into her heart without even understanding what feelings truly were. Let alone something like that. Something that all of her friends had taken years to find out.

"You… you…", Lightning unsuccessfully tried to articulate coherent words until she managed to snarl at him. "… What do you know?! You don't… you don't have any idea about what  _that_  means!"

"You're right", Hope conceded gently tilting his head. "Human emotions are not something I know to easily identify. But I know love is the most confusing of them all. And your aura gives off a lot of confusion whenever you mention Mikhail. It is similar to what Serah feels when Snow is around, in her case lacking pain because she has her beloved one with her. And I feel so much anger and rage from you because the Order took him from you."

Lightning kept staring at him without finding the words. Again, Hope sensed she felt torn between two options radically opposed. But the angel waited in silence once again, not pushing her, simply waiting for her to decide.

And once again, she looked away, with that defeated expression Hope disliked so much to see in her, a human he considered strong and unwavering.

"Tch…", Lightning gave a bitter half-smile. "Many people wouldn't consider love what I feel. You think you can love what you never had?"

"What do you mean?", Hope looked surprised.

"I don't know Mikhail. I've never met him in person", a sigh escaped Lightning's lips. "I'm like the rest of the world in this. I don't even know how he looks like aside from a hazy silhouette."

"Really?", Hope tilted his head, intrigued. "I thought from the way you talked about him that you knew him. You are an Eternal."

"Yeah, just like you, in a different way", Lightning said with a half-hearted short chuckle. "I, too, was born long after King Mikhail disappeared; I'm only 213 years old. And all those who knew him personally died or were killed by the Order. Being their greatest enemy, they've been trying to destroy everything related to him for many centuries, many of them don't remember him as well. The idea was to erase his memory and existence, you know. What little we know from the last Rising Star is what we keep hidden in a secret crypt here, in Luxerion.

"Then, if you don't know him, why do you love him?", Hope asked, looking curiously at her. She gave him a sad look.

"Because of my sister. You know she's a Seeress", she replied. "In one of her earlier prophecies, many years ago, she saw that he and I would meet. That we would save Nova Chrysalia together… in all mean. I saw it, too. She recorded it."

The angel cocked his head.

"Do you trust that prophecy that much to love a man you don't even know?"

Lightning shot him a defiant glare.

"I know it sounds stupid", she replied defensively, "but… I do. I know King Mikhail and I are destined to each other. No one takes me seriously for a long time now. Everyone, specially Serah, insist me I should forget, they tell me that prophecies are just possibilities, but… Bah, who cares", she stopped and made an abrupt gesture. "You're gonna think it sounds stupid anyway."

"No", Hope said quickly shaking his head. "It is just that human feelings seem very complex to me. But because of this I have learned the more complex, the farthest from stupid they are."

There was a long silence. Lightning still didn't quite believe she was having this conversation with Hope, the angel of God. The one she believed the greatest enemy of their cause… and thus King Mikhail's. But she needed that angel. And the time to tell him why had come.

"In any case, the thing is we need to bring Mikhail back, whether or not my sister's prophecy is true", Lightning said then, regaining some of her composure. "And that's for what I need you, Hope."

"Me?", he slightly frowned. "Why?"

"Remember what we talked about a few days ago, when we declare ourselves mutual allies? I told you I needed your help", the young woman told him, and took a deep breath. "This is for what I need you. You're the key that can help us bring back the King, no matter how became of him."

Hope stared at her. This time it wasn't to probe her emotions, but by pure, sincere bewilderment.

"You want me to bring back Mikhail? Light, I am an angel, but I can't work miracles. I don't know if I can reverse crystal stasis or Cie'th transformation, but there is no way I can bring back the dead to life."

"I know you can't. But I'm not asking you to do it. What I want from you is that you help me find what can do it", Lightning's eyes gleamed in determination. "The Heart of Bhunivelze."

"The Heart of God?", the angel repeated blankly.

"The Heart of  _Bhunivelze_ ", corrected her. "It has nothing to do with the god. It's called like that, according to an ancient prophecy. The tales say it's a treasure capable of working miracles, and its owner will get what his own heart yearns as long as it's his, or hers."

"I have never heard of it", Hope murmured. "God never mentioned the existence of such a powerful artifact."

"I told you your god has nothing to do with it. I guess you know the angelic language."

"Of course I do", the angel seemed a bit offended at the question. "Do you know it?"

"Hardly. My sister is the one who studied it, but I'm guessing you have to be the expert here. 'Bhunivelze' is an angelic word, right?"

"It is. It means 'cosmic light'. He is the God of Light after all."

Lightning nodded.

"Bhunivelze is the name that eventually it was given to that god, it's not his specific name. So we could say the Heart of Bhunivelze is actually the Heart of Cosmic Light. The creation power of the cosmos itself, condensed into a physical body."

"I see", Hope said, thinking about it. "But I don't understand what this artifact has to do with me."

She took a while to answer. It seemed she found difficult to find the words.

"You see, the prophecy that speaks of the Heart also states that only an angel could lead its owner to its whereabouts", she finally said. "And as we told you, angels disappeared from Nova Chrysalia thousands of years ago. Our only true chance was nothing than a utopia until you showed up, Hope. You're the only angel that we know, even if you're wingless, and the only one who can lead us to the Heart of Bhunivelze in order to bring back King Mikhail and overthrow the Order."

There was a brief silence. Hope simply processed the new information, but Lightning could appreciate at the faint whitish moonlight a hint of surprise in his expression.

"So that is why you told me if I accepted to become your ally I could be turning against God", the angel said then. "But in truth this is fighting the Order, not God."

"But Mikhail was his greatest detractor", Lightning noted. "Remember that the King fought against anyone who tried to impose the rule of the gods on Nova Chrysalia. If Mikhail were to return, Bhunivelze's reign would end."

Hope went silent again, frowning. Unlike him, Lightning couldn't read his emotions, if he had any. She could guess what he was thinking by his reactions, but in that moment she had no clue. And he was the only thing that could lead her to what she had been looking for so long without any success. If Hope refused…

The mere thought was like a stab in her heart. But she had to admit it was a very plausible possibility, and she herself would've been asking for it.  _"He doesn't owe me anything. I've done nothing but treat him like scum, and even though I don't like him, I can't force him to put himself in danger again for someone he fears at any time could stab him with a sword."_

"I'm aware it's a risk you don't want to take", Lightning said, cursing the fact her voice sounded almost pleading. "And you could end up being punished again. I know I shouldn't ask anything from you considering how I've treated you, but–"

"I will", Hope suddenly interrupted her. "I'll help you find the Heart."

Lightning froze. Of all the answers she had expected to hear, this was the one she considered the least probable. She had mentally prepared herself to not expect much, let alone after having tried to punch him just two days ago.

"… What? …"

"I said I will help you find the Heart", he repeated calmly. "I'll do as much as I can for you and Mikhail meet each other."

If there was anything that could leave the young woman even more stunned, those were the words.

"But… I don't understand, Hope…", Lightning looked at him in disbelief. "Why would you…?"

He lifted his head and looked directly into her eyes. It was a clear, serene and sincere look, filled by genuine innocence, almost as pure as a child's.

"Because you suffer."

It was a flat, short answer, like every one Hope usually gave. But Lightning understood its meaning: the angel knew she suffered because Mikhail wasn't with her. He hadn't questioned at any time the fact she loved a man she didn't even know, unlike the rest of her world. Hope had understood it from the very beginning, and he was offering her his help to make the dream that up until now she had thought impossible, to stop that suffering that he, more than anyone –ironically–, could actually share.

"Hope…", for the first time, Lightning felt that the name she had given to the angel, initially born out of sarcasm, truly defined him. He was her hope. The hope that had taken form in her world, in a way she would've never had thought, to make a prophecy everyone thought false become true. "I don't… I don't know what to say. If you really manage to lead me to the Heart… I'd never be grateful enough."

"You have no need to thank me", Hope said, his voice softer than usual. "You suffer because Mikhail is not with you. I don't like to feel you suffer. So I want to help you to get what will make you happy so you don't have to suffer anymore. Is not that what is supposed to be done?"

The truth was the world was loads more hostile and selfish. People didn't usually put themselves in danger like Hope was just because someone was suffering for something that didn't concern them. Lightning couldn't help thinking the angel's innocence and simplicity endangered him the most in the world of humans. For the first time, she felt a strange instinct of protection towards him. She still didn't like the angel –or so she wanted to believe– but she couldn't help seeing him as a child in an adult body, who saw the world in a much purer way than any human, l'Cie, fal'Cie or god.

"Thanks, Hope", she simply said, feeling true gratitude towards him despite everything. She couldn't stop herself from briefly half-smiling. He didn't smile back, but his pale green eyes gleamed, and she guessed he was happy.

However, she couldn't possibly know that when Hope made his promise to help her meet Mikhail, that strange and painful twinge struck again the young angel's chest.

_"_ _It doesn't matter. She suffers, and if that king is what can make her smile, nothing else matters."_

"You don't have to thank me", he replied, and tilted his head. "I am confident that we soon will be able to start our search for the Heart."

"But you've still got to recover, Hope. There's no rush."

He stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes, and then he focused on the more positive emotions Lightning was feeling towards him, and he recalled that brief smile she gave to him.

And then he conducted his renewed energy to the weakened parts of his body. With great effort, he began to move his stiffened legs, slowly moving his whole body toward the edge of the bed. At the same time, his back painfully started to protest, but he deliberately ignored the pain and kept going.

"Hope!", Lightning exclaimed, standing up like a spring, alarmed when she realized what he was doing. "What are you doing?! Stop it! You're still convalescent! …"

She was cut short when before she could finish the sentence she found Hope sitting on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily, his face paler than usual and moist by sweat from the effort. Lightning was left speechless again.

Hope caught her eye and looked back at her sideways, trying to catch his breath, his green eyes shining with that amused sparkle she had seen sometimes on them.

"I can feel… positive and negative energies from all living things…", the young angel reminded her between ragged breathings. "Energy projected at me affects my life force… either positively or negatively. So far my recovery… has been stagnant because of the negativity you felt towards me. But look at this, Light… A smile has been enough for me… to regain the remaining force I couldn't get back. If that's what you are able to do with me… imagine the wonders you could work with Mikhail…", he looked away, his eyes bright. "I want to see that, Light… I want to see that smile of yours work the miracles you've told me about… and I want to help you do it."

She was silent for a long time, processing what Hope had just told her. She would've never thought the angel of God would tell her such things. An emotionless being. A servant without will. The creature she hated.

_"_ _I hate him. That hasn't changed, and it won't ever change."_

But deep in her heart, something had changed. For the first time, Lightning didn't see Hope as any of those things she had thought of him up until then. Nor as the angel serving God.

For the first time, she had seen him as a  _true_  angel.

The angel who embodied the hope for the deepest desire of her heart.


	15. Beginning

Hope's recovery was relatively slow, but it went on at a good pace, and within three weeks he had improved remarkably. At first he was only able to sit on the edge of the bed with great effort, but a week and a half later the angel already insisted on trying to stand up. And after seven more days, when he was finally able to stand up on his weakened legs without falling and getting exhausted, he began working to walk again.

That had been a lot more hard, and fortunately Snow had been still at home before returning to Yusnaan to attend his duties as one of the Patrons, because he helped the Farron sisters in everything he could about Hope's recovery, even though the young angel still felt uncomfortable whenever Serah's fiancé and his loud voice were close.

The worst of that third stage of recovery for Hope to walk again was the fact of having to  _teach_  him to walk. The first time he tried, he lost his balance after no more than two stumbling steps and he'd have fallen to the floor if not because Lightning held him on time.

"What's happened?", Serah had asked as she helped her sister to hold him and help him stand up in order for him to not get hurt. "You already can stand upright without almost any problem!"

"I don't know…", Hope tried to let go of the sisters, and when he was sure he could stand up without much effort, he flexed his legs carefully. "I don't understand. All of a sudden, when I tried to walk, it was like I couldn't keep my balance."

"It doesn't look it has to do with your legs, huh?", Snow, who was watching Hope's progresses from the threshold of the room, scratched his head. "You can move them for a few days now and you don't get tired anymore."

"I don't get exhausted more than usual given my condition. I can move them with almost no effort. But when I try to walk…", Hope tried to set his foot and make the motion to advance a step; he soon faltered again, and he had to lean on Lightning's shoulder. "It seems as if I am missing my balance."

Lightning watched him intently. There was something they were going by, but she couldn't guess what it was. In theory Hope should be able to walk without too many difficulties; yes, his back hurt and he got tired long before a normal human, but he could move his legs' muscles almost effortlessly now. Walking didn't require much more effort besides coordination, and the angel didn't seem to move differently than humans when walking.

 _"_ _I can't believe now we have to teach him to walk"_ , the young woman thought, resignedly, sighing.  _"Everything would be loads easier if he simply could fly and wasn't wingless now…"_

That was when she realized what was happening. She looked at Hope in disbelief that she hadn't thought of it before, and she looked at his bandaged torso. It was so obvious it was amazing any of them had guessed it.

"Hope", she told him, and the angel turned his head to her, "when you try to walk, what's exactly what you feel it happens to you?"

He frowned.

"I lose balance."

"I know, you already said that. What I want you to tell me is how it happens."

"…", Hope was left thoughtful. "I feel as if my legs fall forward, like my whole body. It had never happened before to me."

 _"_ _Just what I thought."_  Lightning gave a triumphant half-smile once she confirmed what she suspected. She knew well how bodies behaved under extra weight due to her warrior training, and even thought this was a bit different, the base concept was the same.

"Because you had wings before, dummy head. And now you don't have that weight on your back anymore."

Hope looked surprised, and turned his head to try looking at his back.

"Whoa, of course!", Snow laughed and slapped his forehead. "And it was that easy! I can't believe we didn't realize it!"

"It's not that surprising, actually", Serah said smiling gently. "We've all met Hope without wings, so it's not strange we found it hard to imagine."

The young angel said nothing, but he seemed more serious than usual. Lightning felt it wasn't exactly pleasant for him to be reminded that he was a wingless angel.

"Your balance problem is that since you had that weight on your back, you tended to lean forward and apply more strength to your legs to stand upright", the young woman explained him to distract his mind about his situation. "When you carry large weapons on your back, it's the same. Since you now weigh less than before, the strength you apply is too excessive, and that's what makes you fall over."

"But I no longer have wings", he replied.

"The problem has another solution apart from growing your wings back. It's easy: since you're used to lean forward, what you have to do is slightly lean back and bend less your legs. Come on, try it."

Hope didn't look convinced, but he advanced a foot tentatively. He tried to lean back, something that probably hurt his back judging by his expression, but he endured the pain and continued the motion for walking. His first steps were a bit hesitant, but he managed to stand up steadily and walk for several seconds until his habit betrayed him and he lost balance again, avoiding falling to the floor thanks to Snow's prompt action to hold him.

"That's it!", Serah smiled widely. "You just have to get used to it, Hope. But you almost got it, all you have to do is finding your new balance center."

"But I have fallen again. That wasn't supposed to happen."

"No one's born taught. The more you try, the better you'll get", Lightning argued, nodding. "One more time. Try it until you don't fall over."

And Hope kept trying until they finally managed to slowly and carefully walk without losing his balance all over the room. Once Lightning, Serah and Snow deemed he passed the test, he could sit back on the bed to catch his breath.

It had been a great effort and his long recovery was still far from over, but after almost two months he managed to walk again. He wasn't tied to a bed anymore, and he could enjoy some freedom once more.

_"_ _If I have ever really known freedom."_

* * *

Once Hope was able to walk without too many problems, despite his constant pain from the wounds on his back, he finally could leave Lightning's bedroom, which he hadn't abandoned in two months since the moment Snow left him on the bed, badly injured and unconscious. That happened three days later, once Serah's fiancé already went back to Yusnaan, so the angel shared the house again only with the Farron sisters.

Lightning and Serah accompanied Hope to show him the rest of the house that had hosted him all this time and that the angel didn't know yet. It was a small house of two floors: the upper floor was divided in two different parts separated by a wall, and each one was reached by a different staircase; in one part there was the general bathroom, a study and a storeroom, and in the other were the two bedrooms and a small bathroom for nightly emergencies. Meanwhile, the lower floor consisted almost entirely of the living room, with a large couch and a couple of armchairs in front of a television and a fireplace, and the kitchen. The floors and walls were covered with wood panels, and the curtains were of a very thin and translucent fabric, which allowed a nice and warm lighting from the sun come through the windows.

Hope liked the house. Used to the cold, empty and white Ark, the warmth of the home felt so cozy to him. Even during the time he spent in Lightning's bedroom without seeing anything more from the place the sisters lived in, he had felt more comfortable than he ever was in the Ark.

"What do you think?", Serah asked him with a smile when they finished showing him the house.

"It is beautiful", Hope replied looking curiously at the furniture; the sister had already realized he was pretty intrigued about electronic devices. "I like it. And it is small."

"You like it to be small?", Lightning crossed her arms. It wasn't usual people liked small houses, much less in Luxerion, the capital city.

"Yes", he answered her tilting his head and studying carefully the light switch on the wall. "It seems more alive even though only both of you live in it. If it was bigger, it would look empty."

Lightning and Serah shared a look. Indeed, Hope had a curious and unique way of thinking. But the truth was that he was right. And maybe he knew better than anyone, since after all he had been living completely alone in –undoubtedly knowing the stories about Bhunivelze's taste for big things– a quite broad place.

Their thoughts were interrupted when the angel pressed the switch, intrigued, and the hallway lights turned off. Hope frowned, puzzled, and looked at the sisters as if he were apologizing for having broken it.

"Press it again", Serah said, smiling.

He obeyed, and his eyes widened a bit more than usual in surprise when the lights came back on. The Farron sisters had to keep from laughing at seeing Hope repeatedly press the switch looking like a child finding out something new and exciting for him though completely mundane for adults.

"Stop it, before you break it for real", Lightning told him, and Hope backed away from the wall, even though a bit reluctant.

"How does this turn on and off the lights? Is it magic?"

"Yes and no", Serah smiled. "We have a magic Lightning-elemental generator for powering up the house, but these switches simply cut or let the electricity flow depending on their position. The houses from the city work differently, but we have this little advantage because we're l'Cie and our magic works better at recharging our generator than other people's."

Hope looked around curiously.

"I'm surprised you didn't know about all this", Lightning said. "Since you watched our world and all that."

"They were fleeting images. And I didn't pay much attention to them unless they showed anything that threatened the balance of Nova Chrysalia", Hope examined the telephone on a small table. "All these artifacts are new to me."

"That reminds me that we mentioned once you could get out of bed you would have a shower to clean away all dirt on your body", Serah recalled. "What do you say, Hope?"

"Sounds good", the angel replied. "But I don't know what a shower is."

"Come", Lightning sighed, beckoning him to follow her and her sister. "It's about time you do."

Hope followed them to the upper floor through the staircase that led to the part of it where the general bathroom was. The difference between it and the other one was that the general one was larger, it had the same floor and walls covered by wood panels but of a lighter shade, and it had a sink with a mirror hung over it, and a bathtub surrounded by translucent curtains of a candid white.

"Look", Serah said pointing to the tub. "This is a bathtub. It also works for a shower, but we use this one when we want to take a long bath."

Hope knelt beside the tub and studied it intrigued. He ran a finger over the tap and looked up at the shower head.

"And what is a shower? What is the difference between taking a bath?"

"A shower is much faster", Lightning said, gesturing to the shower head, "and you stand up while having it. Water falls from up there, and while it does you rub and rinse yourself. When you take a bath, you put the bath plug, fill the tub with water, and get inside. It takes longer, but it's more relaxing."

"I see", the angel opened the tap and watched with curiosity and surprise how the water flowed from it. "If I get in it, would it matter if the bandages get wet?"

Lightning and Serah looked at him, pondering the question. The wounds on Hope's back still bled, and the only thing that prevented he lost too much blood or get infected were those bandages and the Farron sisters' healing magic.

"In any case, we'd have to change them once you get out, but I think they're thick enough for anything to happen", Lightning said. "Of course, when you get in, you have to take your clothes off."

"Why?", Hope tilted his head. "You can't shower clothes?"

"We  _wash_  clothes, not  _shower_  them", Serah corrected, and she laughed. "But that's a different process, and fabric isn't the same as skin."

"Unless you want us to get you in the washer", Lightning's voice was sarcastic, but Hope looked at her blankly.

"I don't know what a washer is. But I think I would rather have this bathtub."

"Great choice indeed", Serah smiled, amused. "Well, now you know how it works, so you can use it all you want."

"I appreciate it", Hope replied bowing his head to thank them as he put the bath plug inside the hole and opened the tap. Apparently the young angel preferred to take a bath, and they really couldn't blame him. It'd do him well to relax outside the room he had been confined in for over a month, and also take away all the dirt his skin had accumulated after so many days.

What the Farron sisters didn't expect was that Hope slowly stood up with his back to them, and impassively began handling the belt holding the piece of purple silk that covered the lower part of his body and was his only garment. Lightning and Serah realized what he was doing moments before the cloth fell to the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?!", at lightning speed, true to her name, Lightning grabbed a large towel a second before the only thing the angel wore left his body, and hastily covered him with it.

Hope, with the most puzzled expression they ever saw up until that moment, looked at Lightning's flushed and angered face, and then to Serah, who was laughing so hard she had to lean against the sink to not lose her balance, bent on herself.

"… You told me I had to take my clothes off before getting inside it", he answered cautiously, not understanding why Lightning was covering him with that towel.

"But not when other people are looking, you idiot!", the young woman snapped at him. "Much less if they're women!"

"Why? Is it a bad thing?", Hope frowned, blankly. "Does it hurt you?"

"We humans have the habit of covering our body", Serah could explain once she managed to restrain her laughter for a bit. "It's considered, let's say, obscene, it we don't cover minimally our lower half or, in case of women, our upper one as well, in front of other people, specially if they're the opposite sex. It's not that it hurts us, it's just… it isn't exactly usual for a male, angel or not, to take his clothes off like that in front of us."

Hope looked at himself in silence for a few seconds, and then he looked up at the Farron sisters –from the flushed and irritated Lightning to the amused and smiling Serah– with a guilty gleam in his eyes, taking the towel Lightning was covering him with.

"… I am sorry", he apologized, wrapping the towel around his waist, covering his legs. "Your customs are still unknown to me."

"Well, luckily for us we've told you now", Lightning growled. "Don't get into the water with the towel, but don't take it away until you're alone."

"Let's go", Serah told her sister, holding back her laughter. "Let him take a bath in peace. We let you have some privacy now, Hope."

Hope tilted his head as if to say that the sisters' presence didn't bother him, but judging by Lightning and Serah's reaction perhaps they were the ones who really needed the privacy.

When they left the bathroom, closing the door behind them, Lightning sighed angrily, shaking her head.

"Damn him", she muttered; she caught Serah's amused gaze, who was covering her mouth with her hand for not laughing. "Why are you laughing, now?"

"Because I don't know who's more childish here", Serah replied with a chuckle. "No one would think you're a grown woman, sis."

The young woman felt her cheeks blushing slightly.

"I'm a grown woman, it's just that we're not precisely used to see men getting naked at home!", she replied, annoyed.

Serah laughed mischievously.

"You speak for yourself, sis", and somewhat mockingly, she walked up to the stairs, still snickering.

Lightning snorted in disgust and followed her, swearing to herself to castrate Snow the next time he set foot in their house.

* * *

"He's been in there for almost two hours", Lightning noted watching the wall clock in the living room. "What the hell is he doing?"

"It's the first time he's taken a bath", Serah replied, sitting on the couch absently watching TV. "Don't worry about him."

"Tch. Who knows. Knowing how dumb he is, it wouldn't surprise me if he's drowned", Lightning sighed, resigned, and got up from her armchair.

"Where are you going?"

"To check up on him, just in case he gets on trouble again. And stop laughing, will you?", she snapped at her younger sister, who again let out a giggle.

She shook her head, annoyed, and went to the stairs to the bathroom where they had left Hope more than an hour and a half ago. It wasn't normal he took so long to get out. Serah had sought him some clothes a while ago for the angel to wear something better than that kind of flap until they found clothes his size, so Lightning took those clothes to bring them to him.  _"He might not get out because he thinks he has no clothes and he doesn't want to bother us. But to be honest, he could have thought of it a bit earlier."_

She sighed again, standing up in front of the bathroom door. She hesitated before knocking; who knows what new surprise could be waiting for her now. She hoped it wasn't as embarrassing as before, at least.

"Hope", she called him aloud for the angel to hear her through the door. "Can I get in for a moment, or you're not presentable?"

"Come in", Hope's muffled voice came. "I am presentable."

She wasn't sure about trusting the angel's concept of 'presentable', but she turned the doorknob and opened the door, fearing another disaster whatever he said.

Upon opening the door, she was welcomed by a strong scent that made her momentarily flinch and start coughing: it was gooey, sweet and sour at the same time, enhanced by the amount of steam that escaped from the bathroom, so dense that it looked like real fog.

"But, what in the world have you done?!", Lightning managed to say between coughs, covering her mouth with her arm and trying to get a glimpse of something into the steam. "Where are you?"

"I am in here", Hope replied, who didn't sound affected at all by the perfumed, steamed ambient. "In the bathtub."

Lightning, irritated, dared to venture into the dense steam, waving her arms toward the open door for trying to defog the bathroom a bit. It didn't take long for her to finally see the tub, to her relief surrounded by the curtains, so all she saw of Hope was a shadowy figure through them, mainly blurred by the steam.

"We can't leave you alone for a moment, can we", the young woman snarled getting closer to the tub and glaring at the angel's figure. "What the hell have you done this time?"

Hope poked his head through the tub's curtains. His looks struck Lightning with curiosity; his usually messy and dense silver hair was completely soaked and limp, so it covered his eyes more than usual. His ears stuck out from his wet hair, and Lightning found, surprised, that they weren't round like in normal humans, but pointed ones.

"There were some jars filled with small colored crystals", the young angel explained with that gleam his eyes showed when he found anything new for him. "They smelled nice, and when I threw them into the water they dissolved and smelled even nicer. And now the water is of many colors."

Lightning's eyes opened wide.

"Have you thrown all bath salts to the water?", she facepalmed in exasperation. "No wonder it stinks so much in here I can't even breathe."

"But they smell good", Hope sniffed the air like a tiny animal. "Light, you don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it, even though bath salts are my sister's thing", Lightning sighed, kneeling beside the tub so her eyes were at his height. "But throwing all them to the water is madness! A handful or two is used at best. Not five full jars!"

"…", the angel looked away toward the inside of the tub. "You don't have more?"

"No", she replied angrily. "Now you're gonna have to explain Serah you've used all her bath salts in one stroke."

Hope lowered his eyes guiltily.

"I am sorry. I didn't know she liked them so much. I was just curious."

Lightning stared at him a few seconds, then she sighed again.  _"It could've been much worse"_ , she thought, and then resisted the urge to laugh.  _"If the Order knew their angel likes to play in the tub with bath salts."_

"Maybe we should get you a rubber sahuagin to play with", the young woman joked slyly.

"What is that?", Hope tilted his head blankly. This time a short laugh escaped from Lightning. The angel had quite the funny appearance with his soaked silver hair, his eyes wide with that spark of innocence, and his pointed ears. He seemed anything but the merciless angel the Order preached about.

"This is for you", she said, changing topics, showing him the clothes she brought under her arm and leaving them on the sink. "They're temporary, you'll need more clothes once you can get out from our house, but they'll be fine for when you stay in here. Maybe they're a bit big for you, but as you know only two women live here, and if we borrowed anything from Snow for you, you would get through the shirt collar."

"But I already have clothes", Hope looked down at the piece of purple cloth that was still bundled on the floor.

"Even though it might come as news for you, in our world  _that_  doesn't qualify as clothes", Lightning rolled her eyes, grabbed the garment from the floor and stood up. "When you get out of there, remove the bath plug and step on the towel on the ground. And use the one I gave you before to dry yourself."

The angel nodded, but he looked a bit confused. Lightning assumed he was processing all that information, and she saw him looking unconvinced at the clothes she had brought him.

"Don't stay too much in there", Lightning warned him heading for the bathroom door. "There are some things I want to talk with you, Hope. You know, about what we talked weeks ago."

"Ah", he said, recalling her conversation with her about the search she planned to do along him. "Fine. I won't stay much then."

She nodded, satisfied.

"And try not causing mayhem again in the meantime", she told him, sly, before closing the door behind her.

Hope took several minutes to finally get out of the bathtub. He felt much better than before, and also more relaxed. He'd even say the wounds on his back didn't hurt as much as before. He knew they still bled, but maybe the fact of being so calm in the warm water helped his muscles to loosen up.

 _"_ _It has been a long time since the last time I had some peace"_ , the angel thought carefully walking out of the tub and wrapping his waist with the towel as Lightning had told him.  _"But I have the feeling that this has only just begun…"_

Once he dried himself, Hope struggled with the clothes Lightning brought him in order to put them on. Not because of the size –in fact, they were quite big for him– but because he didn't know how to put them on, since he was used to only wear that flap that barely grazed his skin. Now his whole body itched from the fabric's rubbing, coarser than silk.

When he was finally done, Hope looked up at the mirror hanging on the wall over the sink. It was the first time he saw his reflection clearly, unlike the blurred image the magic sphere in the Ark returned him. The mirror showed a young man, extremely pale and lean, almost ethereal, with delicate though sharp features, a silvery mane falling over his neck and shoulders that was messy despite still being damp, two pointed ears sticking out of it and eyes of a light aqua-green shade, the left one covered by a zigzagging scar; now, at the clearer reflection, Hope could see that the edges of his brand of servitude had a blackish tone that made it stand out even more than he thought on his marble, delicate skin.

The angel critically studied his attire. A loose white shirt that since it was quite big it made a lot of folds and left exposed a bit of his bandaged chest, and large grey pants that he had to adjust in order for them to not fall down. He tilted his head at seeing himself stand there, wingless, so more than an angel he looked like a very frail, sickly human.

And that was the angel who according to a prophecy would help Lightning find a cosmic artifact to bring a legendary king from the past back from the dead? To Hope, his looks were anything but angelic.

He sighed lightly, suddenly feeling tired. The creature who stared back from the mirror seemed unknown to him. He couldn't believe that in such a short time, no more than a second in his long existence, he found so hard to recognize himself in that reflection.

 _"_ _I am changing"_ , he thought, narrowing his eyes, before looking away and walking outside the bathroom.  _"Where this change will take me, I wonder… This is only the beginning of a future I can't quite figure out."_


	16. Plan

"Stop scratching yourself", Lightning scolded Hope as they walked down the street. "People are staring at you, and the last thing we need is drawing unwanted attention."

"Sorry", he apologized lowering the hand that had been scratching his arm. "It is just I am not yet used to this clothing. It itches all over my body."

Lightning sighed.

"At least my comrades already know who you are, so they won't be much surprised if they see you acting strange."

At the mention of Lightning's comrades, Hope furrowed his brow a bit, a gesture the young woman knew it meant the angel wasn't entirely convinced that this would have a good outcome.

"You're nervous because we're gonna meet them?", she asked. "I've already promised you they won't do anything to you, as long as you behave yourself and don't attack them or anything like that."

"And I promised you I would not hurt you, I have nothing against your kind. But since you mentioned it…", Hope narrowed his eyes, looking around him. "I do feel restless. Nervous as you say. Not only because of them, but this is the first time I go outside."

"Oh, right. You were unconscious when you descended to our world. Well, in any case you don't have to fear anything if you're cautious and discreet. Something for what scratching yourself as if you had fleas doesn't help at all."

Hope took away his hand from his body again, this time from his sides, with a guilty spark in his eyes.

They kept walking down the street in silence for a while, under the cloudy skies that had dawned that morning in Luxerion, each one absorbed in their own thoughts. Lightning still had her doubts about taking the angel outside and Hope wasn't sure about meeting some l'Cie he knew thought he was a ruthless executioner.

But after nearly two months, Lightning was eager to start the plan she had been wishing to begin for years. Even though Hope was still recovering and his back hurt as he walked, the angel hadn't had the nerve to tell her 'no' when she proposed him to start as soon as possible the search they both had to carry out to find the legendary Heart of Bhunivelze.

Hope tilted his head, remembering the long talk he had with Lightning five days ago, shortly after his first bath and the moment he had worn the clothes he was wearing now that itched so much, wondering how he had ended up involved in such a mess.

* * *

When Hope came out from the bathroom and went downstairs to the floor below, looking for Lightning, he stumbled upon Serah, who was leaving the kitchen in that moment. The younger Farron sister stepped back, startled, until she recognized the young angel.

"Oh! Wow, Hope, I didn't recognize you at first sight", she laughed, looking at him up and down. "Those clothes look quite nice on you. A little too big for you, but I'd say even that suits you best."

Hope looked at himself, frowning slightly. He didn't know if they suited him or not and the truth was he didn't really care. All he knew for sure was that they made his entire skin itch.

"Light said she couldn't give me different ones because only two women live in the house and Snow's clothes wouldn't fit on me. I don't quite see the connection."

"She meant we have no male clothes beside Snow's, and you can't wear his because  _that_  would be too big for you", she explained with a huge smile. "The ones you wear are from a good friend of mine who doesn't use them anymore because they're too small for him now. Anyway, don't worry. I'll try to get you more clothes other than those."

Hope tilted his head. He didn't quite understand why humans had different clothing for males and females. In his eyes they were all the same except for some physiological traits.

"Where is Light?", he asked changing topics. Lightning had asked him to not be late and he didn't want to make her wait.

"My sister? She's upstairs, in her room", Serah said, pointing at the stairs behind her. "You know which one it is, right? Second door on the left."

"Thanks", Hope nodded in appreciation, and went upstairs feeling Serah's eyes fixed on his back and wondering why all of a sudden her aura gave off concern. It seemed the younger Farron sister guessed why Lightning wanted to talk to him, and he didn't understand why that worried her.

He shook his head, pushing those thought away from his mind when he got to the door of the bedroom he knew so well. He knocked lightly on it with his knuckles after a second of hesitation.

"Come in, Hope", Lightning's voice answered from inside. "It's open."

He entered the room, slightly surprised, and found Lightning in there sitting on the bed in front of what looked like a wide sheet of yellowish paper.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Serah never knocks", Lightning replied with a shrug; she turned to him and briefly raised her eyebrows at his new clothing. "It feels so weird to see you wearing clothes."

The angel stared at her blankly.

"I have always worn clothes."

"I meant  _regular_  clothes", she specified, studying him more closely. "They're big for you, but since you're basically a skinned skeleton even my sister's would be on you. But you don't look that bad on these."

Hope was about to reply that he didn't feel the clothes being loose since they brushed his entire body. But then he noticed Lightning's tight clothing and preferred to not say anything. If he had to wear something like that, he was sure in a matter of minutes all his skin would be red and swollen with rashes.

"Come here", Lightning told him tapping beside her with the palm of her hand. "I want to talk a moment about how we're going to organize ourselves."

"Organize ourselves?", Hope tilted his head, sitting down beside her and looking curiously at the paper the young woman had unfolded on the sheets.

"Of course. You didn't think finding the Heart of Bhunivelze would be an easy task, right?", Lightning slyly raised an eyebrow. "Neither you nor I know where it might be hidden, so the first thing we have to do is some research to guess its location. And we also depend on your recovery. I don't think you're ready yet to walk through cliffs or the desert for days."

At that comment, Hope made a face of displeasure. It was obvious he was imagining the pain on his back and the exhaustion that would result of that in his condition.

"Look", Lightning pointed at the paper, which had drawn on it four large interconnected islands and a lot of handwritten annotations on it. "This is a map of Nova Chrysalia. Our group has been using them for centuries, for planning skirmishes or attacks against the Order. I use it mainly to gather information on the Heart's possible whereabouts."

"I see", Hope leaned over the map as much as his back allowed him and studied it curiously. "You have several marked locations. Did you find any clue in them?"

"I haven't had any luck so far", Lightning reluctantly admitted, "but the difference is that I hadn't an angel before and now I have one. It's said many of the most dangerous secrets of our world were sealed by the angels, so only they can reveal them."

The young angel nodded thoughtfully. He wondered if he would be really able to break the seals of his race's magic, since he was born long after the original generation of angels were created. Not to mention that, wingless as he was, he didn't quite look like an angel.

"We're here, in Luxerion", Lightning continued, pointing to one of the four islands. "It's the capital of Nova Chrysalia, and home to the Order. So we could say, we live in enemy territory."

"It sounds risky", Hope noted. "Given that you are a rebel group, it would make more sense if you hid in uncharted lands."

Lightning gave a fierce half-smile.

"Here only live those who want to fight on the frontline. The other l'Cie live hidden away from the world, as you said. And besides, there's no better place to gather information about your enemy than their center of operations."

"I see", Hope narrowed his eyes and stared at her; Lightning knew he was probing her aura. "You want to begin our research in Luxerion."

"That's right", Lightning confirmed. Sometimes it was useful the angel could guess what she wanted so quickly, because it saved her time spent in explanations. "On another note, here in the city you won't get hurt or tired more than necessary, unlike if we were to explore the wilderness. I thought we should start investigating the Cathedral itself, the Order's seat of power."

"That is very bold", Hope frowned. "You intend to spy directly in the heart of the Order's domains."

She chuckled derisively.

"We have friends infiltrated in there what can be quite helpful. In fact", the young woman looked a bit unsure for a moment, "my intention was that before we started our search, I could introduce you to my comrades who live in this city. We'll need their help, and I thought the best is they meet you in person."

Hope turned to her, more brusquely than usual in his calm movements. Lightning noticed a flicker of fear in his eyes, and cursed to herself when she realized she had been scaring him all this time about her people's hatred for him.

"You want to introduce me to the other l'Cie?", the angel quickly shook his head. "You can't. They'll kill me."

"No, they won't. I've already told them who you are", Lightning tried to make her voice sound firm and steady, even though she wasn't that sure. "If you behave and don't attack them, they won't have to."

Hope squinted again.

"You're not sure."

Lightning sighed. That was the downside of the angel's power to probe the energy all living things gave off.

"No, I'm not. I know better than anyone because I've been about to kill you blinded by my own hatred", she admitted shaking her head. "But if you've managed to make me trust you, you can trust me as well when I say nothing's gonna happen to you."

"You can't know that", he replied. "You have said it yourself."

"Hope", Lightning's voice was stern, and she looked at him in the eyes. "I'm telling you nothing will happen to you. We're allies, remember? If I trust you, you have to trust me, too."

The angel was silent for long moments, staring back with a questioning look. Lightning knew that despite his marble-like expression, he was surprised by her words. She was as well, but she had to force herself to trust him and work together, as much as it annoyed her. If she didn't, her whole mission could end in failure, and many things depended on its success.

"… Right", Hope finally said, not without reluctance. "I trust you, Light. I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

Lightning glanced sideways at Hope, shaking her head, and sighed. She couldn't blame him for being nervous. And partly it was her fault, for having been so insistent all that time in that all l'Cie hated him to death. Still, she was relieved that the angel agreed to meet her comrades. If everyone worked together, they more likely would find the Heart of Bhunivelze and bring back rightful King Mikhail.

The thought made Lightning's heart speed up. She knew she shouldn't demand Hope what he still couldn't do, but she had been waiting for that moment way too long. She had to wait for the angel to recover enough for taking him to much more inhospitable and dangerous places, where it was more likely for a magic artifact as powerful as the Heart to be hidden. But having to  _wait_  made her feel even more impatient.

She finally stopped in front of the small, dark local that was half hidden in one of the alleys of that suburb at Luxerion's outskirts. A sign reading  _The Farseer's Rest_  hung on the shelling wall.

"Here we are", she told Hope. "This is our base of operations."

Hope frowned at studying the entrance of the pub.

"It is not very welcoming."

"That's not what matters. This way it goes more unnoticed. And it's different on the inside", the young woman beckoned for him to follow her. "Come, now."

He didn't look convinced. He looked at the door apprehensively, arms folded over his stomach in an unconscious gesture Lightning identified as self-protection.

"Hey", she said, her hands on her hips, "calm down, right? Don't you remember what I promised you? No one will hurt you, as long as you don't hurt them."

Hope tilted his head, but he finally let out a little sigh and followed her into the pub.  _"The thing is that, unlike me, humans can lie and betray their promises."_

One thing was certain, at least:  _The Farseer's Rest_  was, as Lightning said, different from the inside. It was a fairly large place, which because of the lack of windows and consequently natural light it was full of lamps inside which burned a curious orange-bluish fire, emphasizing the warmth of the old wooden walls. Behind the bar there were plenty of shelves filled by bottles and glasses, and the tables looked antiqued but well kept. Hope was surprised about how much the place changed once inside: undoubtedly the l'Cie who operated secretly in Luxerion were more prepared than he thought.

"Lightning!", greeted a voice from the shadows; Lightning and Hope turned to it and found a young man about eighteen years old behind the bar, with long straight chestnut hair, lean but strong. The bar being empty as it was, the young man jumped over it to meet the newcomers, quite an achievement considering the width of his hunting black pants. "You've come sooner than expected. This is becoming quite usual, eh?"

"Cute, aren't you", she snorted in annoyance, folding her arms. "How evident it is that you haven't had customers in all this morning."

"Well, if not for yours and Fang's help, I wouldn't be able to keep care of this pub. Not many people come here, which is good for us but terrible for business", the young man laughed, then became serious. "But let's talk about other things. This is the angel, isn't he?"

Lightning looked back and found out that Hope had backed some prudential steps when the young man had showed up. He was looked at him warily, but he certainly didn't seem hostile. She hoped that'd be enough for her comrades to not attack him.

"That's right. Come here, it'll be okay", she told Hope, who obeyed after a long second of hesitation. "This is Hope, I've already told you about him. Hope, this is Noel Kreiss. He's the owner of the pub, and one of our best fighters."

Hope nodded in greeting, with respect and caution but with a dignity Lightning had never seen before. That surprised her: the angel had always been shy and innocent around her and Serah, but now his demeanor was a lot haughtier and distant. Lightning wondered if that was a defense mechanism, or whether it was simply his reaction to humans he didn't know; after all he hadn't left their house until that day and he hadn't known any other humans besides her, her sister and Snow.

"So you're Hope, right?", Noel said after a brief silence, looking at him inquiringly. His voice was serious, but Lightning didn't pick up any hints of threat on it, which she considered a good sign.

"That is how they call me", the angel replied cautiously.

"Lightning told us about you. She says you'll help us with what we're planning to do against the Order", Noel let out a short laugh. "Quite hard to believe, if I'm honest with you. You're the angel of God after all."

Hope stood a little straighter with a slight wince when the wounds on his back protested at the movement. Even though the angel had the physical appearance of a young man about twenty-five, Noel was still a few inches taller than him.

"The Order isn't God. Nothing binds me to human will: I choose who I help and who I confront. They have used my name in behalf of their tyranny and stained the honor of my kind. I freely chose to help Light in her search, and if that means helping her comrades, so I will", he said, his voice calm and steady in a way Lightning hadn't listened in a long time. It was then when she realized how much Hope had changed in only two months, and the level of trust he had formed with her and Serah.

"Why, now  _this_  was unexpected", a deep female voice said from upstairs; Lightning and Hope, startled, looked up, where a brown-skinned woman about Lightning's age, with messy raven-colored hair and emerald green eyes, was watching them like a cat would look at its prey. She jumped her way down the stairs with incredible agility, and went to them with a dangerous smile on her lips. "Who would've said that I'd hear someday such words from the angel of God himself."

Hope had backed away again, this time in a quite hasty way, and Lightning couldn't blame him. She knew that woman well and she knew it was the smartest thing he could do in his situation.

"Easy", she told him, coming to him and laying her hand briefly on his shoulder to calm him down. "This is Fang Yun, Hope. She's our leader."

Hope glanced sideways to her and Lightning would've sworn he was telling her that wasn't precisely reassuring, but he took a hesitant step towards Fang and bowed his head again to her.

"It is an honor to meet you both, honorable Eternals", he said respectfully, putting a hand to his chest. Lightning was left surprised once again by this unexpected courtesy title.

However, the most surprised there were, undoubtedly, Noel and Fang. They stared at Hope as if they didn't quite believe what they were seeing.

"I told you the Order has been fooling us as they've wanted to", Lightning said with a shrug.

"Seems so", Noel scratched his head. "Which makes me want to wipe them out from the world more than before, if possible. What I wouldn't have imagined is that we'd do that with the angel of God siding with us."

"He's still got to prove he's worthy of our trust", Fang said, accentuating that dangerous smile of hers. "We haven't survived all this time trusting everyone who claimed was on our side. Many people have ended their days impaled in my spear, and that'll be your fate at the smallest betrayal. Have I made myself clear?", she told Hope with threatening soft voice. The angel looked intimidated –and not without reasons, Lightning thought– at first, but then he nodded and replied calmly:

"I have no reason to harm the Eternals, no matter how much the Order preaches the opposite. And I promised to help Light to help what she is looking for. As an angel, my word is pure and true, and my acts devoid of vileness. May my will and honor remain subject to them."

 _"_ _The Angelic Pledge"_ , Lightning recognized in those last words. She was sure Fang and Noel had also recognized it: those were the words that the first angel who came to fight the Twin Gods said to declare his loyalty to the alliance humans, l'Cie and fal'Cie forged. Since that moment, it was said angels used that same pledge to prove the truth in their words and loyalty to those to whom they pronounced it.  _"I didn't expect him to know it, if he was truly created only 3000 years ago and he only knows what Bhunivelze wants him to know."_

"Well, well… I see you play your cards nice, angel", Fang sharpened her smile and held out her hand; Hope stepped back instinctively, but Lightning gave him a reassuring glance, and the angel calmed down and shook her hand cautiously. "As long as you honor that pledge, we won't harm you."

"I appreciate it", the young angel murmured, and then he shook Noel's outstretched hand. Lightning sighed in relief; that went better than expected. Fang's threats were perfectly understandable, but Hope had also acted accordingly.  _"Did he say the pledge because he knew it'd help him to make us trust his word, or only because he deemed it was the right thing to do?"_ , she wondered.

Fang clapped her hands, nodding satisfied, and straightened as tall as she was. She was even taller than Lightning, quite the impressive height for a woman.

"Good! Let's talk about what it concerns us, then", the young warrior said, looking at the three of them. "'Cause that's why you asked us for meeting today, don't you, sunshine?"

"Yeah", Lightning nodded, going to the bar and unfolding on it her map of Nova Chrysalia. "As I mentioned, Hope agreed to help us in our search for the Heart. But he's still recovering from his wounds, so we can't take him to places like the Dunes or the Wildlands yet."

"No, he didn't seem to have the stamina needed for that", Noel remarked behind the bar, looking at the map and then at Hope. The angel frowned at the comment, but said nothing. Mainly because he was right. "But you're the one who has searched for the Heart in depth, Lightning. Where are you planning to start?"

Lightning took a while to answer; Hope, who was able to sense the energy her aura was giving off, realized the young woman felt insecure. Maybe because her plan, which he already knew of, wasn't exempt of risk.

"I thought we could start here in Luxerion. Get into the Cathedral and take all the information we're able to."

Fang scratched her chin.

"You're aiming quite high, huh? You know I'd be safer than you if I did it, but I'm guessin' you want to get in there yourself, and take the angel inside as well. Which makes things difficult."

"I know that", Lightning folded her arms. "I thought it'd be safer to find a way to disguise ourselves, and then you could escort us to Vanille."

At the mention of that name, Hope looked up, surprised.

"Vanille?", he repeated, frowning. "Vanille Dia? The Holy Saint?"

"You know about her?", Noel smiled. "She's one of us, in a way. She's a l'Cie too like us. She's been protecting us from the Order's investigations for years now all she's able to."

The angel looked away, realizing many things at that moment. He remembered the last contact he had with the Saint prior his descent to Nova Chrysalia. He had given Vanille Dia several messages before, but that time he requested information about the woman he now knew it was Lightning. He recalled Vanille's reluctance to give him details about the Farron sisters, arguing it was confidential information.  _"If the Holy Saint knew who Light and Serah were and she thought I was going to act as the killer of Eternals the Order preaches I am, it is logical she lied to me to protect them"_ , he thought, and let out a small sigh.  _"Had not been for her lie, maybe I wouldn't have decided to descend to find out more about Light. And I might have not lost my wings…"_

He shook his head, trying to push away those thoughts. He couldn't blame the Saint for his misfortune. She had done what she thought she should do to protect her friends.

"Exactly", Fang fixed her eyes in Hope, who felt intimidated again by the potency of that fierce glare. "The Order has been brainwashing her for so long, but she's still our most important contact within the heart of the enemy. What you're suggestin' might put Vanille in serious jeopardy. They already suspect you're a l'Cie like your sister, Lightning, and even if your angel is wingless, we can't say he looks like a normal human."

"But Vanille has the power to communicate with spirits", Lightning replied with the same determination. "They could give us a clue, and only Vanille can guide us about where we should start searching."

Fang frowned. Hope wasn't so used to her and Noel's auras, but he could sense the warrior wasn't convinced at all. He understood the Saint could be endangered, but the urge of protection Fang felt towards her was far superior to Lightning and Noel's.

"If I may intervene", Noel chimed in, absently toying with a glass, "I agree with Lightning. If we started to search just with what we know, we would be shooting in the dark. We've investigated the whole city lots of times and we haven't found any more traces of ancient magic than in the Warren, and we can't go in there until you-know-when. And letting time pass by isn't a solution."

"Besides, the Order won't harm Vanille", Lightning argued gravely, looking at Fang's eyes, firmly but reassuringly. "You know it wouldn't benefit them."

Fang chuckled disdainfully and looked away in an arrogant motion.

"Sure it wouldn't benefit them. If they lay a single hand on her, I'll make sure those fanatic bastards end their days skewered on my lance."

 _"_ _What a strong personality"_ , Hope thought, impressed by the determination and ferocity Fang's aura gave off. Her fortitude and strength were overwhelming.  _"Much more than Light's. She is more fragile than she wants to look like. This woman would duel God himself for the sake of the Holy Saint."_

"Fang, please", Lightning insisted. "You work for the Order, you can escort us into the Cathedral. That's all we have for now. Vanille is the only one who can help us, even if it's just a hint. It's much better than having nothing at all."

The warrior leaned against the bar, sighing heavily. She studied the map in silence for long moments.

"Angel, what do you think you can get from this?", she asked Hope directly. "You think talking with Vanille will give you any clues?"

Hope didn't know what to say at first. In part because he was aware that on his answer could depend that Fang gave permission or not to go through the plan. He was an angel and he didn't have to obey the orders of a human, in principle. But Fang was a l'Cie, and she was Lightning's superior as well, and he knew she wouldn't act without the consent of her leader. Not to mention Fang frightened him in a different way than Lightning.

He searched for Lightning's eyes, and he saw his ally looked back at him almost pleadingly. He knew how much she wanted to find the Heart of Bhunivelze, and how much made her suffer not having King Mikhail by her side. That thought inspired him to give Fang an answer:

"The Holy Saint has always been helpful every time I contacted her. I am confident her power can guide us and provide answers to our questions. It is not the first time she has done so."

It was an honest reply. Ambiguous, but sincere. Hope would rather not get into detail, much less with Lightning listening. He didn't know why, but he thought it was best she didn't know.

Fang stared intently at him, as if she was evaluating him. The angel felt uncomfortable, but he remained as calm and steady he could and his pained back allowed him to; he also sensed Lightning's concern and Noel's –he thought it was that– expectation.

"As much as bothers me to admit it, angel, you could convince the High Priestess to preach Bhunivelze loves l'Cie if you wanted", Fang said, sly, and shook her head. "Very well. But you better make sure Vanille isn't harmed after this."

Lightning smiled, relieved, and Noel gave a thumbs-up to Hope, chuckling. The angel didn't quite understand what the gesture meant, but he assumed he got what Lightning wanted: their leader's support.

"Thanks, Fang", Lightning nodded towards her, but Fang shrugged off with a wave of her hand.

"Don't thank me, sunshine. You'd better give them to your angel, he's earned them more than me."

The young woman frowned, but she finally sighed and turned to Hope with a half-smile on her usually serious face.

"You're right. Thank you too, Hope."

"They're not deserved."

"But don't get used at this."

Noel laughed heartily, with an amused gleam in his blue eyes. Fang smiled, but her smile was, as always, more unsettling than comforting.

"Well, chatter's done", the leader of the l'Cie warned, clapping her hands and claiming the attention of those present. "If I'm gonna throw you into the Cathedral, I don't want any mistake. We're gonna prepare a plan, and I want all of you to follow it to the letter. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Captain Yun", Lightning and Noel answered at once. Fang cast a sly glance at Hope, who had remained silent, and he tilted his head blankly, clueless about why all of a sudden they were looking at him that way.

"What's wrong?", he asked, awkwardly. Lightning and Noel made identical amused smile, and Fang raised her eyebrows, looking alternately at him and Lightning.

"Such a rebellious angel you've found, sunshine", the warrior's smile became as derisive as dangerous. "I like your style, angel. If you're true to your word, you're gonna be quite helpful for our plan."

Hope couldn't help but wondering again how he had gotten himself into such a mess.  _"I am going to get into the heart of the Order that has used my name to justify their misdeeds in company of Eternals that up until now had been wanting to kill me"_ , he thought, unwittingly scratching his arm.  _"Such a smart plan for me."_


	17. Voices

Three days after Hope met Lightning's l'Cie comrades, the young angel found himself walking down Luxerion's, the capital of Nova Chrysalia, wide, paved streets with her and Fang, the leader of the rebels, wrapped in a black and white long cloak with gold rivets and a hood like Lightning.

"Hey, sunshine", Fang said, smirking at Lightning. "By how your angel is lookin' at everything, I'd say you don't take him out for walks much."

"It's been only six days since the first time he went outside", the young woman said sighing at seeing Hope looking here and there with that gleam of curiosity in his eyes. "And he's still recovering, so he can't make too many efforts. It's also the first time he sees the city itself and not our district."

"It is very different", Hope said looking intrigued at the shops and merchant posts. "It is clean and well kept. It looks like the streets shine. It didn't seem this beautiful from the Ark."

"You like it?", Fang widened that smile of hers. "Large cities aren't my thing, but besides the Order, Luxerion is a quiet place to live in. It's called the City of Light, and before those priests made it their home, it was the cradle of erudition and science."

"The City of Light. It is an appropriate name", Hope tilted his head to Lightning. "You live in it, Light. It is certainly a very well chosen name."

Lightning gave him a strange look, a mix of exasperation and amusement at that innocent comment.

"Yeah, well, the name wasn't chosen for me, I can tell you."

They went up a staircase that a nearby sign said it led to the southern part of the city. When they reached the top, the first image that greeted them was the huge cathedral that towered over Luxerion, and behind it, in the sky, Hope saw something he had never seen before: it was like a giant planet formed by a weft of sections and surrounded by a halo that glistened in the twilight. The angel felt immediately fascinated by the sight and brightness this strange celestial body cast on the polished tiles of the city.

"It is…", Hope's voice sounded slightly choked; he stepped forward, his eyes bright. "It's amazing. What is this planet? I never saw it before."

"That's the New Cocoon, an artificial satellite", Fang explained. "But most people know it as 'moon'."

Hope turned to her, genuinely surprised.

"That is the moon? Really?", the angel looked at it again, his gaze suddenly awestruck. "Maybe that is why I have never seen it. That is where I come from… The Ark is inside it."

"Is that true? You lived inside the moon?", Lightning asked, amazed; Hope nodded, not looking away from the New Cocoon. "I wonder why the hell Bhunivelze decided to raise his angel there, precisely."

"Why not?", Hope tilted his head.

"Aside the fact it's artificial, because its meaning", Fang said, and let out a sarcastic snort. "The old Cocoon, which was the original moon of Nova Chrysalia, was destroyed when fal'Cie Fenrir and Phoenix merged to defeat Pulse and Lindzei. And to celebrate the coronation of the l'Cie queen, Eleanora, fal'Cie Pandaemonium and the angels worked together to create a new moon to rise into the sky as a symbol of human, l'Cie and angel freedom, and that's why the house of the Queen was named the Dynasty of the Rising Star."

"The angels created it?", Hope's eyes gleamed with a strange spark.

"Mainly, yeah. Their magic was so powerful, and with Pandaemonium's help they built it in a few years. Now no one remembers what it symbolizes, but the New Cocoon was once considered a beacon of hope for the lesser races of the world."

Hope said nothing. His gaze was still fixed on the artificial planet, and Lightning saw him put a hand to his chest. She guessed it had to be tough for the angel to see from afar the place from which he came, banished by his master and his wings ripped away as a punishment for his disobedience. But on the other hand…  _"The New Cocoon symbolized the freedom of those who were servants once"_ , she thought, looking at Hope somewhat pitifully.  _"That included angels as well… And he's lived locked away in there all his life, in service of Bhunivelze. It's ironic that his first contact with freedom has been when he got out of there."_

Though, was it really possible to say Hope was free now? Lightning wasn't that sure. The angel was branded by servitude, as the dark scar over his left eye and the horrible wounds on his back attested.

"C'mon, hurry up", Fang scolded them clapping her hands. "Vanille's only free from her responsibilities as a medium for the night, but the Cathedral closes shop in half an hour. And I've already told you I don't want a single failure in the plan."

"You're right", Lightning admitted, and tugged at Hope's sleeve to snap him out of his reverie. "Let's go, we have to hurry. You'll have plenty of time to stare at the moon in another moment, it won't leave the sky."

He took a second to react, but he eventually followed the two women through Luxerion's streets, lit by streetlights and the New Cocoon's shine. He occasionally looked up, throwing quick glances at the moon. Lightning wondered what was going through his head.  _"Funny thing that he can figure out what we're thinking in a matter of seconds, but what he's thinking about, it's a mystery to us."_

They soon arrived at the gates of Luxerion Cathedral, though it turned out that it was farther than Hope had thought at first. The building was large enough to be seen from all places of a city which covered an entire island.

"Well, open your ears and listen carefully", Fang said stopping at a safe distance from the entrance and whispering to them; Lightning and Hope got closer to her. "You already know this, sunshine, but not your angel. You're disguised as devout pilgrims: I'm supposed to escort you to the Holy Saint for her to grant you her blessing. But this means that before you leave, you're gonna have to greet the High Priestess as well, and that's our biggest problem."

"The High Priestess?", Hope looked at Fang uneasily, and then at Lightning. "… Do I have to talk to her?"

"You think she could recognize you?", Lightning frowned, concerned. "Have you ever spoken to her before?"

"No. I only have spoken to the Holy Saint, but the High Priestess is the one who represents God in the mortal world", Hope replied. "Technically, I owe her some respect because of a hierarchy question."

"Hierarchy? Hope, for heaven's sake, you're an angel. The High Priestess is nothing more than a human. A powerful mage, indeed, but she's got nothing on us l'Cie. And besides, she's the leader of the Order: is a woman who has been using your name for the benefit of her sect worthy of your respect?"

"…", Hope looked away, worried. Even though she didn't know what was around his mind, Lightning guessed it wasn't exactly the respect he was supposed to owe the High Priestess what bothered him, but the fact that messing with the highest authority of the Order could bring him another punishment from Bhunivelze.

"Qualms aside, you're gonna have to do it, you like or not", Fang settled sternly. "It'd be suspicious as hell if two pilgrims wouldn't come to the High Priestess to ask for her protection on their journey. And it's something you'll have to do alone, 'cause I have to stay here after you meet Vanille. It's my turn on duty, ya know."

"I know, Fang. But don't worry, I can take care of myself", Lightning smiled, pointing to her back; hidden under the cloak was her sheathed sword.

"Mmm. Just remember today you don't have to care only for yourself, sunshine."

Hope, somewhat awkwardly, shook his head.

"It won't be necessary. I won't cause any problem, I promise."

"Our main problem is your wounds", Lightning sighed watching him critically. "If anything happens, the simple fact of running away could worsen them. You stick to what Fang and I tell you to do and everything will be alright."

The angel still looked worried, but he nodded. Fang beckoned them, and Lightning and Hope followed her into the huge Cathedral. From the inside it looked even bigger, with a wide corridor that crossed the pit on which it was built. At the back were the banks where the worshipers sat to pray, a stone altar with candles and a statue representing, undoubtedly, the Radiant God Bhunivelze.

As they walked down the corridor, they came across people who were dressed in normal clothes, and others who wore robes of black and white more elaborate than the cloaks Lightning and Hope did. Others, who were the most intimidating for Hope, wore full-body armor and helmets that covered their entire face, and carried long guns with a knife on their ends.

"Those are Secutors", Lightning whispered to the angel when she noticed how he was looking at them. "They're the Order's military branch. Those who guard the Cathedral are the elite, but many of them simply patrol the city, like Fang."

"Fang is in the Order's army?", Hope was puzzled. "I thought she was your leader."

"Of course. That's one of the reasons she's our leader", Lightning smiled. "Even though she's low ranked because it's convenient for not drawing too much attention, she has access to most of the military and political plans of the Order."

"And for personal reasons I don't have to explain", Fang said without turning around. "Gossips."

They were silent as they followed her down the aisle. Hope didn't like how the priests and less alone the Secutors looked at them; he sensed suspicion in their auras, and he didn't think it was a good sign. Undoubtedly, Fang's presence was the only thing that prevented them to stop them right then.

Fang led them to the back of the nave, where there were three priests who judging by their slightly different robes had a higher ranking. When the warrior and the two 'pilgrims' went to them, they looked at them suspiciously.

"Sorry I'm bothering you", Fang said saluting them. "I'm escorting these two pilgrims devout of God for getting the Holy Saint's blessings on their long journey."

The priests silently evaluated them for several tense seconds. Hope sensed their mistrust, but if Fang planned everything well, they'd have to concede.

"The Cathedral is about to close its doors", one priest said. "You arrive a fair bit of time, pilgrims."

"The journey has been long and arduous", Lightning replied firmly. "We couldn't get here before, and we must leave soon. Nothing would make us happier than receiving the Saint's blessings after such a harsh way in search of God's light."

Hope could sense the rage Lightning felt at that saying those words and he was sincerely surprised at the fact she could pretend so well even in the base of her enemies.  _"I wouldn't be able to. Mostly because I am an angel. Lying is something beyond my capabilities."_

"Fine", one of the priests nodded, though slightly unconvinced. "Lead them to the Saint's chambers, soldier, and ensure her safety. We'll notify the High Priestess of these pilgrims' arrival."

Fang bowed, though Lightning and Hope appreciated the mockery in the gesture. Without further word, she beckoned them to follow her through a small, discreet door.

"That went well", she whispered to them nodding with her fierce smile, "but we can't lower our guard. They don't trust you. Smart on their part, indeed, but far from desirable for us."

"If they only were a bit more stupid", Lightning frowned. "How much time do we have to talk to Vanille?"

"Less than you'd want. But that's all we have, sunshine. So make the most of it, you and your angel."

Anything that they could've said was lost in thin air for at that moment they entered a small room full of scented candles and strange shaped ornaments that featured runes and symbols. There were some chairs in a corner, a canopy bed and few more furniture. Sitting in a chair was a redhead young girl, in appearance a bit less than twenty, and as Hope could see, her hair was pulled into two pigtails; it was difficult to be sure at that distance, however, because her head was almost covered by a very elaborate headdress from which two veils hung on either side of her face. She wore simple and ornate clothing at the same time: it consisted on a white top and a long orange-ish skirt fastened by a belt, which left her left leg exposed, but she wore many multicolored bracelets and golden necklaces. At her side, leaning against the wall, was a long staff decorated with images of the sun and moon, from which hung two tufts of purple silk.

"Fang!", the girl cried when she first saw the warrior come in. She jumped up and launched herself into her arms in a matter of a second. "You've come!"

"I promised ya, didn't I? Not easy, but I just won't miss any chance to see you", Fang smiled, moving a bit to let Lightning and Hope enter the room.

"I've missed you, Fang."

"It's only been three days since you last saw me."

"It's the same. I've missed you anyway."

Lightning and Hope witnessed the scene without intervening. Judging by Lightning's expression, Hope guessed she had seen it happen before, but he was surprised. His first impression of Fang was of an extremely strong and fierce woman, so watching her hugging so tightly that tiny girl was, to say the least, unexpected.

"Alright, c'mon, that's enough of cuddling", Fang backed away and, with an arm around the girl's shoulders, waved to Lightning and Hope. "What would your guests think of, Vanille."

Vanille, the Holy Saint, looked at them with curiosity in her eyes, which were of a lighter shade of green than Fang's. Lightning took a step toward her, smiling:

"Hi, Vanille. Long time no see. You know, ever since  _then_."

"Lightning", Vanille smiled back, though she looked sad. "I'm glad to see you. I'm sorry about what happened to Serah. I wish I could've warned you sooner."

"Don't blame yourself. You did a lot telling Fang where they imprisoned her. Without you, we might haven't got in time and she'd have turn Cie'th completely. She's getting better, and we owe you that."

Vanille said nothing, but she smiled gently, if a bit strained, corresponding to Lightning's grateful words. Then she turned to Hope, and looked at him curiously, probably wondering who he was.

"It is an honor to meet you in person, sacred one", the angel said with respect, putting a hand to his chest and bowing, or what the wounds of his back allowed him to.

The young medium's eyes widened at hearing Hope's voice, her face white as milk in just a second. She moved away from Fang, and with hesitant steps and trembling, she went to him.

"That voice… and your aura… I know you…", Vanille whispered in disbelief. "It can't be… You're… You're the angel of God!"

Fang and Lightning looked at each other, alarmed, and turned to Hope, who seemed as surprised as them. They intended to keep the angel's identity in secret even from Vanille, but they hadn't considered that she  _did_  know his voice, and her ability to communicate with spirits also granted her some power over all kinds of spiritual manifestations, including souls and auras. Which would probably allow her to identify a person through his or her life force.

In that moment, Vanille fell to her knees and bowed down to Hope, shaking. Fang made a move as if she was to protest, but the angel was faster:

"Please, sacred one. Don't do that. I don't deserve it. I am no more than a servant."

She looked up. Her eyes were watery and bright with deep guilt.

"I'm sorry… I beg you, forgive me", she sobbed. "I never meant to harm you, messenger of God."

"I haven't doubted you. What happened was an accident", Hope shook his head and bend over. "It was a decision of mine. It is not your fault."

"No!", Vanille cried. Fang quickly ran to her side and hugged her to calm her down. "It  _was_  my fault. When you said you wanted to descend… Just after you asked about Lightning and Serah… I thought you wanted to kill them for being l'Cie. I agreed to guide you, but my intention was to cut the link I tended you before you could follow the thread. But it went wrong… and I made you descend, at the cost of losing your wings!"

Hope blinked, surprised at the words of the Saint.  _"Is she truly responsible of this?"_  But then he remembered Bhunivelze's words, when he told him his punishment for his disobedience. He said the Ark ripped his wings away, not Vanille's powers.

"Losing my wings was part of my punishment, sacred one, for disobeying God. It is but the consequence of my actions. You did what I asked of you; if not for you, I wouldn't be here now."

"But…", Vanille booked, but Lightning, who had remained silent, said at that moment:

"Vanille, he can't lie. He's an angel. He's telling you the truth. It's not your fault."

Hope gave her a grateful glance which she dismissed with a quick wave of her hand. Vanille, a bit calmer thanks to his words and Fang's embrace, wiped her eyes and looked at him unsure.

"Even if that's so, I beg you to forgive me for having lied to you, messenger of God."

"Please don't call me that", the angel shook his head and held out a hand. "You can call me Hope."

Vanille hesitated before taking his hand to help her up, and once she stood up, still in Fang's arms, she gave him a curious look.

"Hope? Is that your name?"

"That's how Light named me."

The Holy Saint turned to Lightning with an amused smile.

"Really, Lightning? You gave him a name? That's so cute!", the girl laughed. Fang slyly raised an eyebrow, and Lightning snorted.

"You are two of a kind. And yeah, I gave him that name because he hadn't one. Problem?", Vanille and Fang shook their heads, still smiling. "Right, because we're short of time, and we wanted to ask you some questions, Vanille."

She nodded, and broke away from Fang. She seemed calmer, and on her face was a serene smile.

"That's what Fang told me. But we don't have much time, unfortunately."

"That's why you've gotta hurry", Fang said staring at Lightning and Hope. "C'mon, sunshine. Ask Vanille what you wanna know, and quick."

Lightning nodded.

"Vanille, you know very well what we're looking for. The reason why Fang, I and the rest is fighting for."

"The Heart of Bhunivelze", Vanille smiled, a bit melancholically. "For the return of the Falling Star. And you, of all people, crave both the most. I know, Lightning."

"The Falling Star?", Hope asked, puzzled. Lightning and Fang hissed at him angrily at once, and the angel decided to keep quiet and not ask anything until the two women allowed him to.

"As you remember, one of the requirements for finding the Heart is an angel, and thanks to you, Vanille, we now have one", Lightning pointed to Hope. "But its whereabouts are still unknown for us. I thought maybe you could help us. If you ask the spirits…"

Vanille frowned thoughtfully.

"You want me to ask the spirits? I don't know if they'll give you a concrete answer, Lightning. At best, they can orientate you."

"That's what I want."

"You don't get it. I mean the spirits view and understand the world in a quite different way to us. They don't speak of places or people, but energy."

"Perhaps I can try to help with that", Hope said, looking a bit awkward when the three women turned to him at once. "For a long time I have also translated what was happening in the world according to the energy I sensed from it. Maybe I can better understand what the spirits tell you, sacred one."

"You think you could do that?", Lightning asked doubtfully. "You said your powers work different here down in Nova Chrysalia."

"Yes, but I haven't forgotten the language of the world's energy. I have reasonable experience on it."

Vanille crossed her arms and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

"If you want me to do it, it has to be now. We barely have time before they close the Cathedral. Messenger –I mean, Hope… Perhaps I can convey to you what the spirits tell me. That way you could hear it too."

"Won't that be too much effort for you?", Fang looked at her, concerned.

"No. This isn't a summoning, Fang. It's just asking a question."

Lightning, meanwhile, asked Hope:

"You sure this can help us?"

"You are the one who insisted, Light. And we have no time for more elaborated rituals."

She sighed.

"You're right. Alright, Vanille. Please do it."

The Holy Saint nodded briefly, and went to Hope.

"Take my hands", she said holding them out to him. "I'll pass to you what the spirits tell me."

Hope obeyed, not very comfortable at the touch of a human who wasn't Lightning or Serah. Fortunately, Vanille's hands were warm, and they conveyed goodness as all her aura did.  _"It is very different from Fang's. They are polar opposites, yet I sense a bond stronger than the others I have seen between humans as different as they are. It is as if they need each other to exist."_

Under the watchful eye of Lightning and Fang, Vanille closed her eyes and focused her mind. Hope saw her lips barely moving, undoubtedly opening her channels of communication with the spirit world. He noticed the wires stretched between the horns that decorated her headdress began to vibrate at the same time the warmth of the young medium's hands increased. The angel realized that headdress, besides all its ornamentation –according to her role as the Holy Saint– had a much more important function than looking beautiful: it amplified the reception of forces and messages from the spirit world.

And then he heard the spirits. They began as almost inaudible whispers, muttering sensations that spoke of the lands of Nova Chrysalia, of the forces flowing through that unstable world. Hope had never heard them before, but he knew the feeling: it was very similar to what he felt in the Ark when he probed the energy of the world in search for imbalances. The angel closed his eyes too, like Vanille, trying to decipher what they were saying. North winds seemed to surround him, and he thought he felt a salty, damp smell in his nose, and heard the distant sound of waves.

But suddenly those whispers were overshadowed by a cacophony of voices that without warning began pounding Hope's mind, who let out a gasp as those ethereal, menacing voices struck him mercilessly.

_"_ _Traitor…"_

_"_ _You should not exist…"_

_"_ _Shame…"_

_"_ _Go away…"_

_"_ _You do not belong here…"_

_"_ _You do not deserve your name…"_

_"_ _Disgrace…"_

_"_ _This will never be your place…"_

_"_ _There is no place for you here…"_

_"_ _Slave of the gods…"_

_"_ _You should have died the moment you were born…"_

_"_ _Abomination…"_

_"_ _Stigma of your kind…"_

_"_ _Begone…"_

_"_ _Vanish…"_

_"_ _Heartless spawn…"_

"Hope! Open your eyes, Hope!"

That voice sounded much more real than all the others. With a great effort, Hope opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor, his head resting on Lightning's knew, who had crouched beside him. Fang and Vanille, with worried looks in their faces, watched them in concern.

"Light…", the angel murmured, feeling his skin covered by a nasty cold sweat, and his whole body shaking. "The voices… What happened? …"

"You fainted all of a sudden", she said, breathing in relief to see him conscious. "It was as if you were having a nightmare."

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!", Vanille was on the verge of tears again. "Never before something like this happened to anyone. I didn't want to hurt you!"

"I am fine… I think", he replied, trying to get up; he winced when he felt his back hurt more than before. "But… those voices…"

"They were the spirits' whispers. You've heard them too, have you?"

Hope looked up at her. What he had heard was far from 'whispers'. But just before he asked, it occurred to him that perhaps Vanille hadn't heard them.  _"They seemed to speak directly at me…"_

"… Yes", he said, looking away and stood up with Lightning's help. "I think I could figure out what their answer meant, sacred one. They spoke of the north, of a place located near the ocean."

The young medium nodded.

"I've also reached the same conclusion."

"A northern place located near the ocean?", Lightning looked at Fang. "That leaves two options."

"And none of them clear", the warrior sighed, "but at least it's a start."

"Thanks, Vanille. You've been so helpful", Lightning nodded toward Vanille, who returned the nod, and she turned to Hope. "You haven't got anything more about it?"

Hope hesitated. It wasn't a direct question, fortunately for him, so he could avoid telling them what those voices had told him.

"… No."

His answer must've sounded not very convincing, however. Lightning frowned and looked at him questioningly, but at that moment they heard some loud bell chimes that startled the four.

"Ten o'clock!", Vanille looked worriedly at Lightning and Hope. "They're going to close the Cathedral now! You must go away before it's too late!"

"Hurry up, I'll walk you to the nave", Fang told them opening the chamber's door. "I'll come to see ya later, Vanille. You two, c'mon!"

Lightning and Hope were quick to follow Fang, not before hastily thanking Vanille, who told them:

"Good luck. I'll be praying for you to find what you're both looking for."

* * *

Minutes later, the sky lit only by the New Cocoon, Lightning and Hope walked in silence through the streets of Luxerion, back to the Farron sisters' home. They had left the Cathedral behind a while ago, but they still were in tension.

After leaving hurriedly Vanille's chamber, they had to briefly pay their respects to the High Priestess, a light-blue-haired woman dressed in a red and black robe who wore a golden mask, flanked by several Secutors. Despite hiding their faces under their hoods, Hope had the unpleasant feeling the High Priestess stared at Lightning with an unsettling smirk. And he had no doubt that she had noticed too, because she hadn't said a single word since they left the Cathedral.

Hope tried to probe her aura, but all he sensed was that huge tension. He was concerned too about their meeting with the High Priestess, but he was more worried about those voices that didn't leave his memory.

Because of this, it caught him totally off-guard when, while walking down a dark alley, Lightning suddenly turned to him and pushed him to the wall, cornering him.

"… Light?", the angel looked at her, frightened at her angered expression. "What's wrong?"

"Don't play coy with me", she replied fiercely. "You're hiding something. I know you've heard something else when you were listening to the spirits with Vanille."

So after all it turned out Lightning hadn't believed his words. Hope didn't want to talk about it, because he actually wasn't sure of the meaning of what he heard. But if the young woman asked him a direct question, he'd have no choice but to answer.

"I told you the truth, Light. I can't lie. I haven't heard anything more about the Heart."

"I'm not talking about the Heart", she snapped. "I know you weren't lying to me because Vanille said exactly the same thing as you. But I'm aware that you can tell not the whole truth, and I have reasons to believe that, after what happened to you, that's exactly what you're doing."

Hope looked away, pursing his lips.

"… That is irrelevant to our search. There is no point talking about it."

"You think so?", Lightning, angry, cornered him further against the wall; the angel's back began to protest. "You mean you lose consciousness because of whatever you've heard, and it's  _irrelevant_? You have to remember that your safety is important too! You're all I have to find the Heart and bring back Mikhail, and you don't give a damn about what happens to you!"

At these words, Hope closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He knew very well that the only reason the l'Cie cared about him was because he was the only thing that could help them in their mission. He didn't expect their sympathy or their genuine concern for his person. He knew Lightning only saw him as the tool that would allow her meet the man she loved.

But knowing that didn't prevent those words from  _hurting_.

 _"_ _Why am I doing this?"_ , the angel couldn't help wondering.  _"I am risking myself and perhaps even defying God for a cause that doesn't benefit me at all. I accepted because Light asked me, but why did I agree? What do I get from being treated as nothing more than an item?"_

The memory of the ruthless voices and their merciless accusations flooded again his confused mind. He felt disoriented, and for the first time he felt a strange urge to run away from everything and everyone.

"Hope, what the hell is wrong with you?", Lightning insisted, sifting his shoulders. "What is it what you're hiding from me?"

And then, all of a sudden, Hope opened his eyes and looked up. He glanced left and right, sideways, tenser than ever.

He could feel it. It was just a hunch, but the angel sensed a concentration of energy in the air that shouldn't be there.

 _Something_  was wrong.

"… Hope?", Lightning broke away a bit from him, uneasily; she had noticed the change on his attitude, and she had never seen him so alert.

It was just a second what transpired. Hope sensed the energy grow from a place above them, and then heading at high speed towards where were they… or rather, where Lightning was.

He didn't give it a second thought. Any doubts he might've had moments before dissipated when he realized what was happening. Bracing himself, Hope released himself from Lightning's grip and pushed her back:

"Light! Back off!"

And then he got the strong impact of something that burned his skin on his left side, knocking him down on the tiles of the alley and pushing him several yards away. Pain took over his whole, weakened body, from whatever that hit him and the rough landing on the ground. But the worst was that the blow reawakened the pain of the horrible wounds on his back, forcing him to let out a scream.

The last thing he heard before the pain took hold of him and everything went dark was Lightning's voice shouting his name.


	18. Life

"Hope!"

Lightning had taken a few seconds to react after the angel pushed her all of a sudden, but she had managed to see how he was taken down, and heard his scream of pain before lying motionless on the ground.

She had seen what hit him. It was only for a moment, but she was able to recognize a Fire spell even if she got a mere glimpse.

She ran towards Hope's lying figure on the tiled floor, but before she could reach him, a shadow jumped down the rooftops and stood between her and the unconscious angel. Lightning stepped back, alert. It was a man dressed entirely in black, his face completely covered except for his eyes. In his belts she saw many sheathed knives, not counting the one he was wielding, which was long enough to be considered a gladius, a certain type of short sword.

His eyes gleamed mockingly, and then Lightning heard two soft thuds behind her. As she turned, she saw other two figures in black, another man and a woman, wielding knives as well, had jumped down and now they were encircling her, keeping her away from Hope.

Lightning cursed to herself.  _"If you've come to take him, you're gonna go home empty-handed."_  She took off her pilgrim cloak with a simple swing of her arm and unsheathed her longsword. When she raised it over her head, its lightning-bolt-shaped blade, until then of a candid transparent color, produced a thunder-like sound and started glowing with an intense blue-white light, like lightning, crackling with pure electricity.

If that intimidated her foes, they certainly didn't show it. They took a fighting pose, raising their knives, waiting for her to make the first move. But Lightning remained still, studying and challenging them, until they finally pounced on her.

Even though Lightning's specialty was dueling against sword-users, she knew how to react when her enemies attacked with daggers, much smaller and faster. The gladius the first man wielded was more like a sword, so that one was easier to block. But the other two assassins both carried knives, so she had to keep an eye on them to dodge their quick, relentless attacks. They also could use magic as she had already seen; not dangerously powerful, since they weren't l'Cie like her, but enough to distract her if it hit her.

As fast as lightning, true to her name, Lightning blocked a lunge from the first man's gladius and dodged two slashes with an agile flip. She moved with constant jumps and backflips, dodging and attacking, but those assassins were also fast and agile, and they evaded all her strikes so far.  _"Wise choice"_ , the young woman thought, momentarily derisive.

She wasn't overly concerned about the assassins: the greatest danger was the darkness that shrouded the alley and the little space she had to maneuver. But Hope was quite another story. The angel was lying on the ground, knocked down, and even though the enemies had shown no intention to attack him, Lightning was aware he was the most vulnerable by far. And if what those three wanted an angel alive for whatever they had in mind –if they knew he was an angel– there was little doubt about what their goal would be.

She ducked to dodge a slash from the gladius of the first assassin which otherwise would've beheaded her and immediately after jumped back to avoid a stab from the other man. The woman tried to take the chance the moment she touched ground again to throw her a knife, but Lightning was faster: she instinctively casted an Aero spell to her, throwing back the dagger to her by the wind; the assassin had to block it with Protect, which made the knife bounce against the magical barrier in the direction where Hope lay unconscious, to Lightning's horror. Luckily, the knife barely touched him, digging into the ground a few inches from his face.

That incident was what angered Lightning even more. It wasn't the first time she had to deal with assassins, but she had always done it alone. And now she had to defend a helpless and wounded creature and those bastards didn't even allow her to get closer to him. With a cry of rage, she raised her sword and charged against the second man; he moved away dodging the onslaught, but Lightning chained the move with a strong kick that sent him flying several feet away. It felt good, but she let her guard down more than she'd have wanted, which earned her an annoying cut on her arm when she didn't back away on time from the course of the woman's dagger.

The first man, loads more irritated than he was at the beginning of the battle, raised a hand to her, and tossed a fireball against her, another Fire spell like the one that had hit Hope; at the same time, the woman casted Water, which forced Lightning to cast Shell to protect herself instead of mirroring their spells with her own. She swore under her breath: enemies who could use magic were the most annoying, even though they were no match for a l'Cie. But she had to restrain her power, she couldn't allow them to realize that she was, and besides, casting more powerful spells would cause collateral damage and it could harm Hope.

 _"_ _Meddling bastards"_ , Lightning thought, angered, as she dodged and blocked the attacks of the three at once. If she could have done so, she'd have gotten rid of them with just a Thundaga, but Hope was too close and the alley was too narrow and dark to maneuver easily.  _"If only I could find a gap in their defense… But they're devilishly fast! Could they have casted Haste on themselves? Synergist spells are the hardest ones for mages who aren't l'Cie…"_

She could cast spells of the synergist branch like Protect and Shell, but they weren't her specialty: Lightning's was offense via magic and swordplay plus some notions of medic spells. The Haste spell was something beyond her capabilities, since it required direct manipulation of the time flowing around the target, just like Slow or the hardest one, Stop.

Those thoughts probably distracted her, because she suddenly realized the three assassins were throwing themselves against her and she hadn't even begun to react. She dodged as she could both stabs from the daggers and clumsily blocked the first man's gladius, but he caught her off-guard because he managed to move away her electrified sword and open a gap in her defense.

Lightning was already watching how the gladius' blade descended irrevocably upon her and was aware her mistake would cost her life, but she was shock-still, unable to react or defend herself when deep down she knew she wouldn't make it on time. However, just a moment before the gladius stabbed her body, a strong gust of wind came from nowhere and brutally pushed back the three assassins, who fell over each other. That had been an Aerora spell, and judging by its power, work of a l'Cie.

Before Lightning could even ask how she had saved her life, a shadow fell from the rooftops in front of her, wielding two long katanas. The young woman, startled, stood guard, but then the newcomer turned to her and gave her a friendly, though cocky, smirk.

"Noel!", Lightning exclaimed, recognizing his baggy pants and brown hair, relieved.

"That was close", the owner of  _The Farseer's Rest_  pub said, somewhat sarcastically. "Luckily I got here on time. You okay, Lightning?"

"I am. But Hope…", Lightning looked back, where Hope lay. In the midst of battle and with three assassins trying to kill them, she couldn't check on him.

Noel nodded, frowning as the three assassins got up, dazed, and wielding their weapons again. Two of them grunted in annoyance when they saw they had a new opponent to deal with.

"Well then, we're gonna have to get rid of them as quick as possible", he waved his hand, which shone with a reddish glow, and an orange-colored aura briefly surrounded him and Lightning. "Bring it on!"

Lightning didn't need him to say it twice. Noel and she attacked the assassins at a speed much higher than theirs; unlike the young woman, Noel did have specialized in synergist spells and he knew how to cast Haste, which he had just done. And not surprisingly, the effect was much greater if a l'Cie casted it.

Even though they were still outnumbered them, two on three was better odds than one on three. Not to mention the fact Noel wielded two blades helped to tip the scales. Both l'Cie moved as if they were dancing in the alley, dodging, striking and casting spells. Their enemies didn't take long to lose their cool and start making mistakes, which gave them the chance to settle the battle once and for all.

Lightning took on the man of the gladius while Noel dealt with the other two who carried daggers. The young woman, with her chained thrusts, her agility and spells, was able to push the assassin back and box him up against the wall. He thrashed against her fiercely and managed to give her another cut in the leg, not as deep as the one she sported in her arm but more annoying and dangerous for balance. Irritated, Lightning blocked the second slash and kicked him in the groin; the man, caught by surprise at the physical blow, widened his eyes and let out a cry that was muffled by the mask covering his mouth. It was the last sound he uttered, because moments later Lightning's electric sword plunged into his belly, spreading a brutal discharge through his entire body that ended his life.

Meanwhile, Noel had managed to distract one of the two assassins he was fighting with by casting a Blizzard spell to freeze his legs, trapping him and pinning him to the ground. The woman tried to attack him dagger in hand, but Noel swiftly struck her in the side with a blitz of his blades pushing her away, and without hesitation he slashed the trapped assassin's chest with two accurate, deadly blows.

Now only the woman was left alive, and Lightning and Noel turned to her ready to end her up. But the assassin was gone. With surprising speed for someone who had just been wounded, she had managed to jump to where Hope was unconscious, and with a nasty glint in her eyes she crouched beside him and raised her knife over the angel's chest.

"No!", Lightning shouted, raising her sword, even thought she knew she wouldn't get on time. But the assassin didn't move. She watched them calculatingly, and slowly ran the blade of her knife over Hope's left wrist, opening a thin cut on his skin.

"She's provoking us", Noel grabbed Lightning's arm to prevent her charging against the woman. "I don't think she's been told to kill him, but she'll do it if you come closer."

"Then what the hell you suggest we do?", she said, shaking with anger at seeing how that woman was hurting such a defenseless creature like Hope.

"I don't know! If I only could sneak behind her while you make some distraction… We could ambush her, but if she suspects anything she could kill him."

The assassin pulled away the knife from Hope's bleeding wrist, and for Lightning's rage and frustration, she went to draw another cut, staring at the young woman, this time on his face. Impotence seized Lightning, who couldn't bear staying there while the anger that could make true the dream she had fought so hard for was being deliberately hurt.

But before the dagger's blade touched Hope's skin, something fell just behind the woman, and blood splattered the ground. The next instant, for Lightning, Noel and the assassin herself's surprise, they saw the blade of a lance sprouting from the woman's chest.

The newcomer pulled her weapon from her victim's back, and the assassin collapsed on Hope's unconscious body, dead. When she moved, the moonlight illuminated Fang's features, which formed a grimace of controlled rage.

"You're damn lucky I got here on time to help you take the trash out", the young dragoon said, kicking away the assassin's corpse and crouching next to Hope.

"Fang!", Lightning quickly ran to the unconscious angel's side. "How did you and Noel found us?"

"Fang told me to follow you secretly once you two get out the Cathedral, just in case", Noel said, who had cleaned the blood from his katanas in the clothes of one of the assassins and went to them. "As always, her intuition was more than correct."

"Even so I had to come here myself to save your asses", Fang's voice was stern, but also cocky. "Fortunately I found out the High Priestess ordered to follow you and get you killed, sunshine, so I decided to come in case Lady Luck wasn't on your side."

Lightning, who was examining Hope's wounds, looked up at her.

"The High Priestess has ordered this?"

"What else did you expect? You're the sister of a l'Cie who they know is a Seeress too. Without you protectin' her, they could get all the prophecies they pleased."

"Then they're dumber than I thought if they think Serah wouldn't give them quite the fight", Noel snorted, "but she'd be indeed more vulnerable without Lightning's protection."

Angrier than ever, Lightning realized the High Priestess must have figured in the Cathedral she was the sister of the l'Cie she used to get the prophecy that endangered them both.

"But these bastards aren't Secutors."

"Of course not, sunshine. The Order also knows how to recruit mercenaries, and not all of them are as noble and righteous as you. I'd even say you're the only one with something akin to a code of honor", Fang chuckled, sly. "And they've probably spent big money on hiring these three. Assassins and mages with remarkable skill for being mere humans."

"Sorry for interrupting you", Noel intervened, "but we've just set up a nice fight in an alley, there are three corpses on the floor and the angel has also taken a good beating. If anyone comes, we're gonna get some attention."

Lightning looked down at Hope, whose cloak had been taken away by Fang moments before. She had laid his head on her knee to get him a bit up and examine him more closely. He sported a burn on his side where the assassin's Fire spell had hit him, and the cut on his wrist bled more than expected, perhaps because his skin was so fragile. In the darkness she couldn't appreciate it well, but she'd have sworn he was paler than usual.

"Take him away", Fang told them, looking around in tension and wielding her double-bladed spear. "You've gotta go away in case more come over. I don't know if the High Priestess ordered them to capture him or if she knows what he is, but we can't take any risks. We must protect him. Take him to your house, Lightning."

"All the way?", Noel looked unconvinced. "You think we can carry him?"

"He's loads lighter than he looks; Snow can lift him with no problem at all", Lightning said, passing one of Hope's arms over her shoulder. "Between the two of us, it shouldn't be difficult to take him home, Noel. And we must heal him as soon as possible."

Noel passed the other arm of the angel over his shoulder, and tried to lift him with Lightning's help. She was right: Hope truly weighed so little, that between the two they could carry him effortlessly. The boy nodded, satisfied.

"C'mon, get outta here", Fang spurred them with her spear. "I'll cover your rear if anyone follows you and cleanse this whole mess."

"What are you gonna do with those?", Noel asked pointing to the corpses of the three assassins, which were staining the tiled floor with blood.

"The sea swallows everythin' up with no question, unlike you. Now c'mon, get outta here at once!"

Lightning nodded and without a word Noel and she ran down the alley carrying the unconscious Hope, leaving the young dragoon behind and still looking around constantly, ready to attack and defend themselves at the slightest provocation.

Apparently they hadn't gone as unnoticed as they wanted, despite Fang's plan. Lightning knew the High Priestess suspected she was a l'Cie, and she had reasons to. But the question was, would she have somehow figured out Hope was an angel?

She wasn't the only one looking for the Heart of Bhunivelze. And she was well aware of it.

_"_ _But Hope won't ever fall into their clutches. I won't let them."_

* * *

Fortunately, they didn't have any more mishaps on their way back the Farron sister's home. They had to make a detour to avoid the main avenues, but besides that it took them no more than twenty minutes to get the district on the outskirts where the house was.

Serah was who opened the door when they knocked. Concern on her face was evident, undoubtedly by how late it was and the fact Lightning and Hope hadn't yet come back, but when she saw her sister and Noel in the doorway carrying an unconscious Hope, all three of them with bloodstained clothes and skin, the younger Farron sister almost lost her balance from the shock, her face turning white as milk.

"Sis! Noel!", she exclaimed, frightened. "What's happened to you?!"

"Let us get in, Serah, and help us", Lightning said a bit nervously. "We'll tell you later. First we have to tend Hope. Let's take him to my bedroom, now."

Serah nodded, in the verge of tears, and stepped aside to let them enter the house. As they went upstairs to Lightning's room, Noel greeted Serah:

"Hey, Serah. Long time no see, and sadly it's gotta be at a time like this, huh?"

"Don't say that", she replied. "You're always welcome here, and I know if you haven't visited before it's because how busy you are, both at the pub and helping Fang."

"It's actually pretty much the same thing", Noel laughed, "but anyway. Glad to see you're doing well. Hey, by the way, those clothes the angel's wearing are mine, aren't they?"

"They weren't the only ones that weren't extremely loose for him", Lightning said, entering her bedroom and lying Hope on the bed with Noel's help. "You said yourself that since they were small for you we could use them as dishcloths, and we found them a better use."

"True that", Noel scratched his head and watched Serah rushing to the bed to closely examine the angel's wounds. "But I'd say they're quite big for him, right?"

"He's so thin he could only wear your pants and he'd make a robe of them, Noel."

In the meantime, Serah had taken off Hope's shirt once she found the burn on his left side. In the light of the bedside lamp and without his shirt on, Lightning and Noel noted a number of bruises on the angel's body, probably caused by his rough landing when he was knocked down. The younger Farron sister took his left wrist, the one the assassin had injured, and frowned before focusing to heal the cut with her Cure spell.

"What's wrong, Serah?", Lightning asked in concern. "Is it serious?"

"If it had been anyone else, it wouldn't be but a shallow cut. But in his case, with that skin so delicate and fragile he has, whatever did this to him cut him a vein", at noticing Lightning and Noel's faces when she said this, Serah was quick to add: "Don't worry, it's just one, and you've brought him before he lost too much blood."

 _"_ _Did that assassin really wanted to cut him a vein?"_ , Lightning wondered as she watched in silence her sister running her glowing hand over Hope's various injuries.  _"I don't think she wanted to kill him. She only wanted to provoke me, but… Serah's right. She did what she thought it wouldn't kill a human, but she didn't realize Hope isn't."_

The sight of Hope, unconscious and wounded on her bed, brought her back memories of a similar scene two months ago. She sighed, shaking her head as she healed her own injuries with her healing magic. It was almost like the angel did nothing but get the worst of everything that happened around him.

"How long you think it'll take him to recover this time?", she asked Serah.

"It's nothing too serious, sis. He's just a bit battered", her sister replied, smiling softly, much calmer than before. "It's not the same as his back, see? My magic is healing everything else. I don't think it'll take too long for him to wake up."

"That's good", Noel nodded, satisfied. "We can't lose that angel, right, Lightning?"

She gave him an irritated glare.

"Care to explain why you're asking me?"

"Oh, it's nothing", the suppressed laughter of the boy wasn't very convincing. He stretched like a cat and pulled away from the wall. "Well, I have to go, now that the angel's out of danger. I don't trust the Order: I'm gonna patrol a bit around here and then I'll go to the Cathedral, just in case Fang needs my help."

"If you're going, be careful", Serah said looking up at him. "It wouldn't the first time they have registered your pub out of suspicion."

"They're the ones that should be careful", Noel winked to her, "but don't you worry, Serah. I can take care of myself. I'm a hunter after all, right?"

"Actually you're an innkeeper", Lightning intervened sarcastically, to which Noel rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Well, I'll see you around then, Noel. And… thanks. You know, for saving my neck."

He grinned.

"You're welcome. You take care of the angel and keep your eyes wide open. Our Savior has to be one hundred percent, huh?"

"Shut up, now. And go before it gets later."

With a hand wave, Noel bid farewell to them and left the room. The Farron sisters soon heard the front door close behind him.

A few minutes later, Serah took away her hand from the side in which Hope sported the burn, now completely healed.

"That's it", she said, breathing deeply, moving away a bit from him. "It could've been much worse; they were just superficial wounds. He'll soon get better."

Lightning nodded, relieved. Hope was paler than usual, but he seemed indeed better than before.

"You think we could wake him up?"

"I don't know. Try it if you want, but if he doesn't react, don't bother him."

Serah moved aside to make room in the edge of the bed. Lightning sat there, and gently shook the angel's shoulder:

"Hope, can you hear me?"

"Nn…", a faint sound escaped from Hope's lips while his eyelids slightly trembled. "… Mmm…"

"Easy", Lightning said, laying her hand on his shoulder. "It's me, Lightning. It's okay now. You're safe."

The angel's green eyes slowly opened, as he shivered. He tried to focus on the young woman's face with effort.

"… Light? …", he murmured, and then he noticed Serah by her side. "… Serah… Where… am I? …"

"You're home", Serah reassured him with a smile. "My sister and Noel brought you here. You were hurt, and we've healed you. Now you're all right."

Hope tried to get up, though the only thing he managed was for his resented back to protest. He winced in pain and brought a hand to his bandaged chest.

"Don't tire yourself", Lightning scolded him. "You've taken quite a few blows, and it can't be said you were in the best condition for that."

"… Yes", the young angel remembered, frowning. "I sensed someone wanted to hurt you, Light… I wanted to push you away so you wouldn't be harmed."

 _"_ _It's true. I didn't remember"_ , Lightning looked away, surprised.  _"Hope pushed me away for that Fire to not hit me. When trying to protect me, it was when he got all those injuries…"_

"Wait a minute. You're saying you've been attacked by someone?", Serah was pale in horror. "Lightning, could you please tell me exactly what happened?"

Her sister sighed.

"Apparently our disguises didn't completely fool the High Priestess. According to Fang, she ordered some hired assassins to follow us when we left and kill me."

"You? What about Hope? He was more injured than you and Noel."

"Hope protected me from the first strike at the expense of being in the receiving end. One of the assassins wanted to use him as bait, and so she cut his wrist, but Fang killed her before she could do anything else to him."

Hope's expression turned grim at that, but before he could say anything, Serah, visibly agitated, asked:

"You think they could've mistaken you for me, sis? Maybe that's why you were attacked…"

"I doubt it. Even if they don't know where exactly you live, you're far too precious to be killed. However, the do suspect I'm a l'Cie, and I have no redeeming gifts in their eyes."

Serah bit her lower lip and looked at Hope, who remained silent.

"And Hope… What if what they wanted was to capture him? If they somehow figured out he's an angel…"

"That's another story. And unfortunately, I don't know about that", Lightning shook her head. "Hope doesn't look like an angel, wingless and with a hood as he was. But if they did, it won't be the last time they try to capture him."

"I don't think they know", Hope murmured then. "I sensed no energy directed at me… It was you what they wanted, Light. They wanted to hurt you."

Serah got up, shaken, and gave her sister a stern look, folding her arms.

"I warned you, Lightning. I told you it wasn't safe to go, let alone take Hope with you. Why you're getting him into all this? What do you get from it?"

"You know why", the young woman growled, looking away.

"Of course I know why. Which doesn't mean what you're doing is the right thing", Serah was angry, much angrier than Hope had seen her ever. "You're endangering Hope selfishly, and you don't even care if he's still recovering or not. He could have died, both he and you!"

Lightning gave her a fierce look, straightening her back, though she didn't get up.

"That's enough, Serah. Hope agreed on his own to help me. We're alive, and that all what matters."

"No, it's not", her sister sighed, shaking her head, heading for the door with a grave expression on her face. "But I've spent years trying to make you understand it, and you refuse to accept any other truth than yours."

Lightning tried to protest, but at the time, Serah had already left the room. The young woman took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She and her sister didn't usually argue, but they had never agreed about that certain question.

"She worries about you", Hope muttered. "I think she is right."

"What do you mean by that?", Lightning snapped at him, frustrated. "You're trying to tell me you won't help me anymore just for this single incident?"

"No. I gave you my word and I will stay true to it", Hope's eyes seemed tired, and he looked at her in a strange way. "But your sister is right. Life is important. It must be protected and nurtured."

"I admit we could've ended up badly, right", the young woman protested. "But the idea was no one would get hurt. We've also managed to get out from other far worse situations, and Serah knows it. What bothers my sister is that you're the one who got hurt at the end of all this."

But Hope narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"I wasn't talking about me."

She raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"So what did you mean?"

"… You say you killed those who attacked you", the angel looked sad. "It is not right. Life must be respected. You could have imprisoned them. Why did you do it?"

Lightning looked at him at a loss of words. But Hope's gaze was serious and she'd almost say disappointed. Or maybe saddened.  _"Does he really mourn the death of three bastard assassins who have tried to kill us?"_

"Hope, these three assassins have beaten you up, and you're wondering why did we kill them? What kind of sawdust you have for brains?"

"They might have hurt me", Hope looked at his left wrist, where despite Serah's healing magic he now sported another bad-looking scar that stood out from the others he had in the same place, "but they didn't take my life away. You and Noel are still alive. But you have taken away the life of others. Since I was born, God taught me that life is the most important thing that exists."

"Because if we didn't, we would've endangered a lot more lives!", the young woman replied. "I'm aware you've living in this world for a short time, but the rules down here aren't as simple as the ones you followed up in the moon where you lived. That life Bhunivelze claims to appreciate that much wouldn't be possible if others didn't die, Hope. How can you survive without feeding on other living beings, both animals and plants?"

Hope stared at her for long seconds in silence, and Lightning quickly realized what he was thinking about:

"Right, you haven't had the need to eat until now, but this further proves you've done nothing but live oblivious to the reality mortals face every day. Down here in the mortal world, everyone wants to eat and no one wants to be eaten. If you want to survive, you have to take away others' lives. You understand now?"

"But they didn't want to eat us", Hope replied tilting his head, to which Lightning sighed, gathering her patience.

"It's a way of speaking, dummy head. What I meant is that either we killed them, or they would've killed us. If we had let them live, the Order could've find them or they could've escaped, and tell them who we are or confirm them we were l'Cie, for example. And even though here in the city only are the ones who want to fight, there are others who don't want to get involved. And I can tell you, that won't stop the Order from slaughtering them, no matter if they haven't raised arms at all against them."

The angel slightly frowned. Lightning couldn't help thinking this creature was too innocent to survive in such a cruel world.  _"To think we've been made to believe he was a ruthless murderer, when he finds the simple thought of taking away the lives of those who have tried to kill us this disgusting."_

"It is not right", Hope repeated, letting out a small sigh. "I don't like it. Life is a gift. And so fragile… Humans should value it."

"Hope, it's not a matter of valuing life or not. You think we enjoy taking lives away? I swear to you, it's far from easy even for warriors like us. But it's a question of kill, die or your loved ones to be killed. Even though it's a cruel choice, you must take it", Lightning looked into his eyes, firmly but also bitterly. "There are some things in life you just do if you want to protect it."

He gave her a strange look. Lightning was almost sure it was sorrow what she saw in his eyes.

"Why everything has to be this complicated?", the angel murmured closing his eyes and resting his head on the pillow with obvious weariness. "Since I descended, it is as if everything I thought was right and wrong is no more than a tiny part of an infinite scale of shades of grey."

Lightning couldn't help but give him a small, pitying smile.

"Because that's how life is, Hope. Everyone thinks and feels in a different way according to their experiences and emotions, and that affects how you view the world and relate to it. Good and evil don't exist, but a reality that everyone sees in their own way. Even kids know that."

"Hmm…", Hope ran a finger absently across his brand of servitude. "Then perhaps I can't consider I have lived. Perhaps you're right, Light, and I am nothing more than an empty shell."

It was true she had accused the angel on more than one instance of that, but hearing him say it was quite a different thing. And Lightning wasn't sure if she could ever appreciate the one who had been God's servant, but after sharing the same roof with him and getting to know his thoughts and opinions, she knew she couldn't say anymore he was an empty shell.  _"I wonder if he has ever been at all, or that changed when he started to live with us…"_

"I wouldn't say so", the young woman told him softly. "I'd say you're more like an embryo."

"An embryo?", Hope opened his right eye.

"Yes. We could say you're taking shape. You're defining yourself. Let's say you're growing up, if that's easier for you to understand."

"Bit late after 3000 years of existence", the angel noted. Lightning noticed the slight hint of sarcasm in his words, and couldn't help but let out a short chuckle.

"As you've said, of  _existence_ ", she pointed out. "Not life. There's a difference, see?"

Hope sighed wearily.

"Life is more complex than I was taught it was", he muttered. "I still think it shouldn't be taken away, but… perhaps death isn't as terrible as God says."

"You know what I think? I believe two opposite sides are needed in all existence for there to be balance. Life and death, creation and destruction…", Lightning smiled, despite herself. "It's ironic I'm telling you this, to the angel who watches over the world's balance."

"I don't know what I am anymore", Hope replied quietly, and then he remembered the haunting voices he had heard hours ago. "I don't even know if I should  _be_."

Lightning gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind", Hope laid his head again on the pillow, growing more exhausted and confused. "I'm tired, I don't know what I'm saying. Forget it."

She wasn't that sure about it, but there was something that prevented her to insist at that moment. And it was that Hope had never said anything like that. Those words sounded more spontaneous than his usual well-measured and serene answers. It was clear something was wrong with the angel, but in his condition the best idea wouldn't be pressuring him.

"What you need now is to get some rest, not dwell on all this stuff", Lightning said, standing up and covering him with the blanket so he wouldn't get cold, and grabbed his bloodstained shirt. "We're alive, Hope, and that's what matters, right? Don't think about anything else."

He said nothing, but nodded slightly, without opening his eyes. The young woman knew he'd fall asleep within seconds.

"Now sleep. You've had enough for today. Goodnight, Hope", Lightning headed for the door, but then stopped, and after a moment of hesitation she said before leaving the room, "… And thank you."

_"_ _Thank you for helping me… and for risking your life for mine."_


	19. Chains

Travels by monorail didn't seem to be Hope's liking.

"You're the first person I know that gets sick in a monorail", Lightning said at the pale, disoriented face of the angel, who didn't look away from the window with pursed lips and his skin slightly sweaty. "Honestly, Hope, what  _doesn't_  happen to you?"

Serah, who was sitting in front of them, put a hand on Hope's knee with a friendly smile:

"You'll get used to it. Don't worry, if it's the first time you take a monorail, it's normal. Just relax, we'll be there soon."

"You said the same thing an hour ago", the angel replied hoarsely. "And I see nothing but sea."

"We're traveling from one continent to another, you know", Lightning raised her eyebrows. "It's true that Nova Chrysalia's 'continents' aren't very large, but it's still a long way."

Hope said nothing. He simply frowned, crossing his slightly trembling hands on his lap. Lightning observed the yellow cloth wristband covering his left wrist, a new addition to his attire several days now she had given to him to cover the new scar he sported there after their confrontation against the assassins. In theory it had already fulfilled its purpose while the wound healed, but the angel hadn't taken away. In fact, it seemed he liked it.

She sighed, leaning her back in her seat, recalling the chain of events that had led her, her sister and Hope to take that monorail.

* * *

It happened about two weeks ago, after the ambush they dealt with after their meeting with Vanille. Hope didn't take long to recover from his injuries of the aftermath, but both Lightning and Serah noticed he was much more serious and quiet after the incident. Lightning had already explained to her sister that the angel didn't like to hear that she, Noel and Fang killed the assassins the High Priestess sent after them, but she felt there was something else. But Hope kept silent, and Lightning wasn't sure if she should inquire or not.  _"Perhaps when he knows what's wrong, he'll tell us"_ , she thought.

After a week, Lightning agreed to meet Fang and Noel in  _The Farseer's Rest_  to discuss about her findings after talking to Vanille. Since Hope was still a bit scared to leave the Farron sisters' house, she went alone, and in Noel's pub she spoke at length about what the spirits told Hope and Vanille.

"They both came to the conclusion the spirits spoke about a place in the north, close to the sea", Lightning summarized, as she and her friends leaned on her map of Nova Chrysalia. "Even though everything is actually north of Luxerion."

"But northern winds can't blow in the Dead Dunes, which narrows the search", Fang replied pointing to the island slightly northeast of Luxerion. "As I told ya before, girl, we have two options here."

"The Wildlands and Yusnaan", Noel said thoughtfully. "Of course, the Wildlands are a very tempting place to conduct a research, but without more clues, we could spend years without finding anything in such a large place. And about Yusnaan, do you believe the Heart could be in such a crowded city?"

"We can't be sure if the spirits spoke about the precise location", Lightning carefully studied the map. "If it were that easy, anyone could use a medium to get an answer. We got a clue, but maybe following it will lead us to another clue, and not the solution."

Fang crossed her arms and looked up at the young woman with gleaming eyes.

"What are you thinking about, sunshine? If it's what I'm thinking, that's gonna be a pain in the ass."

Lightning furrowed her nose in uncertainty, but Noel looked at one and the other, not quite understanding what they were suggesting:

"What are you two talking about? I'm not following you, could you please have some consideration with me? More than half of the time I don't get what you guys are plotting."

"Not our fault you're the newbie of the party", Fang laughed heartily. "If we don't consider the angel as one of us, of course. Well, sunshine, are you thinking  _that_?"

"Possibly", Lightning admitted a bit reluctantly. "I don't know how much information we could gather in the Wildlands, but there's something in Yusnaan that can give us more clues than the spirits: fal'Cie Pandaemonium."

There was a brief silence. Fang nodded, amused, but Noel was left stunned.

"Pandaemonium? You saying you want to ask the fal'Cie directly? But you know no one can get where it is! That place was sealed thousands of years ago."

"Yeah, but the seal was placed via angelic magic", Fang noted scratching her chin. "Not even l'Cie can get through, but now that we have an angel, things are different. I see where you're going."

Lightning frowned.

"I don't know if we'd get any result, if I have to be honest. It's a risk, because Pandaemonium has spent millennia without having any contact with any living being. But it's a semi-divine being, and perhaps it and Hope understand each other."

Fang crossed her arms and stared at the map for several minutes in silence. It was obvious she was considering the plan: the truth was Hope's presence gave them an unique opportunity to meet the legendary Pandaemonium in person, but meeting a fal'Cie wasn't free of danger, and they couldn't notify it in advance.

"We're not losing anything for trying luck in Yusnaan", the young dragoon said at last, even though by her expression Lightning knew she had her doubts, "but you might be putting your angel in danger if you take him to Pandaemonium."

"Why? He's an angel, right? I thought fal'Cie kinda liked them", Noel was a bit puzzled.

"But Hope is the angel of Bhunivelze", Lightning sighed, rubbing her forehead with her knuckles. "And fal'Cie don't like gods. I know that, Fang, but he's the only one who can lead us to the Heart."

Fang nodded, smirking, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well then, go to Yusnaan and see if you can find that fal'Cie of legend. But stay alert, you and him. I'll do everything I can to cover your backs, but while you two are out of my reach, you'll have to look out for yourselves."

"Don't worry, Fang", Lightning smirked back. "Snow's there too."

"That's not great solace", Noel joked, mockingly.

"Yeah, but it's better than nothing. I guess."

* * *

Upon getting home, Lightning told Hope that once they had done a few preparations, they'd go to the city of Yusnaan to continue their search. The angel hadn't commented much about it, but he'd been surprised to learn the idea was meeting in person the legendary fal'Cie Pandaemonium.

When she asked Serah to notify Snow they'd go to the city, her sister insisted on going with them to see her fiancé. At first Lightning didn't agree with that since Serah was still recovering from her brand's awakening, but her sister was so excited she had finally given in. They usually couldn't afford those trips because of Lightning's inconstant salary as a mercenary, and Serah only got money by teaching children from families that were outcast by the Order. But this time they hadn't any more options, because otherwise they'd have to walk all the way for days to Yusnaan.

So the three of them were on their way to the other grand city of Nova Chrysalia. Lightning took a long time to make that decision, but she'd come to admit their mission was loads more important than the bad memories of over two centuries…  _"Serah could be happy in Yusnaan if she wanted to. But not me. I'd rather had never returned."_

Some kind of bell suddenly rang, and Hope looked up, startled.

"That's because we're arriving", Serah smiled, and pointed to the window. "Take a look, I bet you can see Yusnaan already."

The angel obeyed. He was feeling dizzy, but he got a glimpse a huge city on the cliffs, encircled by airborne roadways and buildings a lot more colorful than Luxerion's sober constructions. The monorail was going very fast and he could barely see anything, but Hope saw for a second a large, bright building crowning the northern part of the city.

Just a minute later, the monorail slowed down until it stopped at the station. Lightning and Serah got up and picked up the little luggage they'd brought with them; Hope tried to follow them, but after a few steps his legs quivered and Lightning had to hold him.

"You okay?", she asked him; Hope merely frowned. "Hold on my shoulder, you'll feel better once you breathe fresh air."

The trio went to the platform, and looked around them. They soon saw three officials of Yusnaan's guardians going towards them.

"Morning", one of them greeted, his voice a bit metallic because of the helmet that covered his entire head. "Are you the ladies Lord Villiers has kindly host?"

"Yes", Serah smile; some days ago, when she had spoken to Snow, her fiancé told her he'd send escorts to bring them to the palace. "I'm Serah Farron, Lord Villiers' fiancé, and she's my sister. And he's a friend of us."

The guards looked warily at Hope, who was leaning on Lightning with his usual marble-like expression but he was staring at nothing, a sign that he was still dizzy.

"He's got sick in the trip", Lightning explained, not without a bit of irritation.

"I see", one of the guards said, nodding and waving for the trio to follow him. "Come with me, then. Lord Villiers has ordered to escort you to his wing of the palace."

They obeyed. They didn't leave the station by the main gate, but by a side hallway that led them to a rockier, sandy area next to what looked like an industrial complex. There, on the sand, three vehicles of antigravity propulsion were levitating a few inches off the ground.

"Get on", another guard said, coming to Lightning and Serah and holding out a hand. "Let me carry your belongings, ladies."

The two sisters gave them to the guard, and they placed it in a compartment of the aircraft. Serah climbed into the backseat of one of them; Lightning was about to do the same, but Hope was standing still, and when the young woman looked up, she found him looking at the vehicles with obvious reluctance.

"What's wrong now?"

"… Those things", Hope muttered, his voice hoarser than ever. "They fly. I am going to get sicker."

Lightning shot him an incredulous glare.

"You're going to get sick by  _flying_? For heaven's sake, Hope, what kind of angel are you?"

"One who hasn't taken flight not once in his life", he replied, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, though this time wasn't friendly sarcasm, but somewhat bitter.

She was left speechless, but before she could ask anything, Serah called them:

"Come on, sis! What are you two waiting for?"

"We'll talk later", Lightning sighed, and tugged at Hope's sleeve for him to start walking. "You'll have to suck your sickness up for a bit."

The young angel slowly climbed to his seat, reluctantly. Before turning around to get into her aircraft, Lightning heard him muttering:

"… First the monorail and now this."

* * *

"I see now", Snow said rubbing his chin, covered by his incipient unshaven stubble, concerned. "Serah told me a bit about what happened to you, but now that you're giving me more details, I admit time's running short."

"Hope says he didn't feel they were after him", Lightning shook her head, "but he's still learning to identify emotions, and I know it's difficult for him when it comes to strangers. We can't rule out the Order suspects he's an angel. We know they can get the idea by the magic people's auras radiate, like they do with us l'Cie."

After arriving at the Palace of Yusnaan, Snow had greeted them in the wing he had assigned to him. There were seven Patrons in the city, and they all lived in different areas of the palace. The Patrons met whenever they discussed political issues and Yusnaan's situation, but otherwise they had little interaction between them.

Hope had stayed in a room, resting until he stopped feeling sick. Anyone in his situation would've thrown his guts up by then, but for some reason the angel's body didn't seem capable of that. Lightning recalled Hope told them his body was intended to remove all impurities in his organism, and perhaps that included digestive acids. However, this meant while any human would've been quick to recover after puking his brain out, Hope had to endure that unpleasant sensation until it was over.

"Well, now you don't have to worry", Snow smiled pounding his chest with his fist. "As long as you're in Yusnaan under my protection, they can't do anything to you. Long as you don't reveal you're l'Cie, of course."

"That's under control", Serah gave him a broad smile, resting her head on his shoulder. They were sitting on a couch, in front of the armchair where Lightning was seated. "It's been a long time since the last time we came to Yusnaan. And I missed you, Snow."

"And I missed you too, babe."

"Sorry for interrupting", Lightning chimed in, a bit annoyed by those two lovebirds, "but remember we're not here for sightseeing. We've come for a different reason, Snow, and despite it's madness, we depend largely on you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You wanna chat with the fal'Cie", Snow raised his hands. "As you know, I'm supposed to protect it. But all I can do is escort you to the ways leading to his resting place. What I can do is cover your back for the other Patrons to not notice a single thing."

Lightning scowled. She couldn't blame Snow for the few options he was giving them. The truth was no one knew exactly where the fal'Cie Pandaemonium was. The writings they had at their disposal said the fal'Cie's hideout was in the Palace of Yusnaan, but they didn't specify the exact location, or what kind of protections the angels had put on the way.

"You've also gotta keep in mind the palace guards patrol the lower levels, and unsurprisingly enough they don't only follow my orders", Snow went on. "Going in there from the surface would be suicide. I know there has to be some external passageway that leads to a lower level, but I don't know where it might be."

"We'll have to look for it, I guess", Serah sighed. "But Yusnaan is so big… We can't register the whole city. We'd also get a lot of attention."

Snow scratched his head.

"I can put at your disposal the files and records of the palace's library. Some of them are quite old, and maybe you'll find some clue in there", he suggested. "But there's loads of material there. It could take whole days."

Lightning frowned. She didn't relish spending days in Yusnaan, but it was clear she had no choice. And she couldn't blame Snow for that delay: it was all about a fal'Cie, after all. It had to be devilishly protected.

"We have no choice", the young woman decided, irritated, getting up from her chair. "We should begin our search as soon as possible, though."

"You're leaving?", Serah asked when she saw her sister going towards the door.

"I'm going to check on Hope. He didn't feel okay at all after the flight, ironic as it sounds."

Without further explanation, Lightning went out of Snow's chambers and walked down in wide strides the hallway to the room where she had left Hope resting. In part she wanted to get away from there as quick as possible because Snow and Serah would soon start celebrating their reunion.

Although she was well aware they were engaged, Lightning didn't like the idea that her beloved little sister had such degree of intimacy, both physical and emotional, with someone who wasn't…  _"No, that thought isn't healthy at all, Lightning. Don't even go there."_

She continued walking down the hallway for a few minutes until she finally got to the room she had left Hope in. She opened the door and peeked in: the angel was exactly as he was when she left him, lying on his back on the bed, but he wasn't asleep because his big eyes were open, staring absently at the ceiling. In fact, he had crossed his legs one over another and he seemed to be moving a foot to the beat of the distant songs the minstrels played on the streets of Yusnaan.

"Hey, Hope", Lightning greeted, entering the room and closing the door behind her. "How're you feeling?"

The young angel lazily turned his head to her. Lightning thought he was more relaxed than usual for him.

"I am better. A bit tired from the trip, but I'll get better soon", Hope slightly stretched. "How about you? Have you already talked with Snow?"

"Yeah", the young woman sighed, sitting on a chair beside the bed. "But he doesn't know how we can get to Pandaemonium. Nothing we didn't already know, and truth be told, we couldn't expect anything else coming from Snow."

"But you do know Pandaemonium lies hidden under the palace", Hope said, confused. "Why don't you simply look for it here? Snow is the Patron, he could allow us search for it."

Lightning looked at him wryly.

"Because you have no idea of how guarded the lower levels are, dummy head. And Snow isn't the only Patron here; if he were, we wouldn't have any problem… But we have to sneak in with no one else knowing it. We'd be in serious danger if someone found us, and Pandaemonium as well."

Hope thought about it for a second, then nodded.

"I understand… What are we going to do, then?"

"That's the question", Lightning replied wearily. "We'll have to find a secret passage of sorts that might lead us to the underground areas of the palace. But it could take us days to search through Yusnaan and look for data in the palace's library."

Hope sensed displeasure in her aura at mentioning their stay in the city could last for days. It was strange, because he believed Lightning liked to travel, judging by what the young woman had written over her map.

"Do you miss your home?", he asked her. She raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the question.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"It is the first time we are away from Luxerion in the time we know each other", Hope tilted his head. "I guess for humans is hard being away from home because they usually don't stray too far from it. You seem uncomfortable here."

Lightning took a while to answer. She stared at Hope like a hawk.  _"He doesn't have any idea and yet he doesn't miss a single one."_

She didn't want to talk about it… and she definitely wasn't going to do it, much less to him. But Hope's innocence was something that, much to her chagrin, she found so hard to resist to. He was looking at her with those big light-colored eyes and that spark of curiosity she already knew, and she could only satisfy it, if only in part.

"Luxerion's not exactly my home", she finally replied, "but I do miss to some extent the one I consider as such. Sometimes I think I'd have had a quieter life if I had stayed there. But I had no choice but joining the fight against the Order."

"You couldn't choose to fight or not?", the angel looked sad. Lightning was well aware by now Hope hated fighting and all kinds of violence.

"It's complicated…", Lightning sighed. "Let's say, on one hand I wanted to fight… You know, for freeing my people and also for Mikhail. But it wasn't just that. It was my duty, in a way."

Hope's expression indicated her he wanted to keep asking, so she decided to change topics before he could do so:

"And what about you, Hope? Do you miss your home?"

He briefly blinked.

"Home?"

"Well of course. The Ark, right? Didn't you say you lived inside the New Cocoon?"

Hope tilted his head and looked away thoughtfully.

"I have lived in there from the moment I opened my eyes for the first time…", he muttered. "But I've never considered the Ark my home. It was where I had to be, nothing more than that. The only thing that binds me to that place is my servitude to God."

"Then you and I are in a similar situation", Lightning laughed somewhat bitterly. "Difference is, you've lived your whole life in a place you don't call home until now, and I left mine to live in a place I don't consider it as such."

"I don't know if in this world exists a place I could ever call home", Hope closed his eyes. "I am an outsider, after all. I may feel comfortable, but I don't belong here."

Lightning raised her eyebrows:

"You feel comfortable in our world?"

"Fairly", in the afternoon light, despite lying down, the angel seemed more vital than usual. "Right now, I feel much better than I've felt in ages. I like Yusnaan, despite how unpleasant the trip was."

"You like Yusnaan?", Lightning frowned; she certainly didn't share his opinion. "Why? You haven't even truly seen the city."

"It's because of the energy in the ambient… I can feel it in the air, and it makes me feel stronger", he replied stretching again, a dynamic gesture coming from him. "As you know, positive energy strengthens my life force, while negative one weakens it. And this city radiates positivity. That's why I feel this good here."

"Yusnaan is the City of Revelry", the young woman replied with a hint of disdain. "I won't deny people come here to have fun, but that's merely a superficial happiness. In fact, it's actually quite frivolous."

Hope looked away to the window. Fireworks, Yusnaan's trademark, started to light up the city's sky.

"Possibly. But it is still positive energy. Undoubtedly it would have deeper effect on me if it were true happiness, but after all this time feeling this weak, it's a nice change."

Lightning watched him carefully. Truth was, he looked better than before, not just after he overcame his sickness but also the past two months in general.  _"That's good. The sooner he gets better, the sooner we can look for clues in more remote places."_

"You want to take a walk around the city?", she asked Hope after a pause. The angel gazed at her slightly surprised.

"A walk? With you?"

"Unless you want to get lost, yeah", she laughed. "Since you say the city makes you feel better, I thought you might like to visit it. It's loads prettier at night."

"Hm…", Hope looked doubtful. "But you don't like it, Light."

"Not much", Lightning admitted, and she shrugged. "But I know it quite well. And I don't fancy spending these days between the walls of the palace. Well, what do you say?"

There was a brief silence in which Hope looked unsure, thinking whether or not to accept the offer, perhaps out of fear of going outdoors in an unknown place. But finally, he slightly shook his head and sat up, eyes bright:

"… Why not?"

* * *

"Check it out!", Serah exclaimed, delighted, looking up at the most luxurious and tallest building in the Glutton's Quarter. "You see that, Hope? It's the  _Banquet of the Lord_. The most elegant restaurant in all Yusnaan!"

"Forget it, Serah", Lightning laughed halfheartedly. "We don't even have money to afford a soup in that place."

"Hey, I was just telling him", her sister protested crossing her arms, pretending a pout. "Besides, who knows. My fiancé is one of the Patrons. We could celebrate our wedding here, and then we could invite everyone to a banquet here!"

Lightning raised her eyebrows, but she said nothing. Hope, at her side, was watching curiously everything around him; he seemed particularly fascinated by the fireworks and the countless lights that adorned the city.

"Do they force you to pay for eating?", the angel frowned. "Why? It is one of your basic needs. It is as if you had to pay for breathing."

"Not exactly", Serah explained. "It's true that denying food to someone who needs it is a death sentence unless you can hunt or you're willing to steal. Look at it this way: in restaurants we don't pay for the food itself, but the effort from the one who cooked it. The greater effort, the more you pay."

Hope didn't seem to quite agree with that, but he didn't comment on it. He simply studied, intrigued, the food stalls that crowded the Glutton's Quarter.

"You're hungry?", Lightning asked him when she saw him examining with great interest the samples in a small fish stall.

"A bit. But if you have to pay for it, don't do it because of me."

Serah shook her head and smiled, pulling some coins from the pockets of her dress. She came to the stall, drew the attention of the vendor and said:

"Three sahuagin brochettes, please."

Surprised, Hope was about to protest, but before he could, Serah planted a steaming brochette in his face.

"Shut up and eat."

Lightning laughed, taking the brochette her sister offered to her, and watching in amusement how Hope studied curiously the food and chewed it cautiously. That's how Serah was, she always was kind to people even if she didn't even know them. She couldn't say the same, something Serah had been trying to polish ever since they were children.  _"I'm too wary to trust people. It's not that I haven't any reason, but Serah has always been loads more successful with others than me."_

The trio walked for a long time around the Glutton's Quarter eating their brochettes: there was a lot of delicious food in the stalls, but they had run out of gil and they couldn't afford to get more. They simply enjoyed Yusnaan's nightlife and the wonderful smell in the air.

"It's a shame we can't revel as much as I'd want", Serah said, somewhat sadly. "We have to find Pandaemonium before we draw too much attention."

"We're not touring", Lightning grumbled, "but I agree. Tonight we're doing an exception, but from now on we're gonna have to focus all our efforts on finding how to get to the fal'Cie as soon as possible."

"Do you have any idea, Hope?", Serah suddenly asked the angel. He, who had been distracted by the fireworks, briefly blinked.

"Me?"

"Well yes, you told us one of your roles was to find fal'Cie activity in the world. Perhaps your powers can guide us to find the passage we need."

Hope thought about it for a bit. Lightning recalled the angel's powers worked different in Nova Chrysalia, but even so her sister was right: in some way and with some luck, Hope might guide them.

"I could try", the angel replied, doubtfully. "I don't know exactly what aura pattern fal'Cie give off, since I've never detected one. But I guess it is different to humans and l'Cie's. However, I would have to track the entire city: there is a lot of interference to do it from afar."

"At least it's a start", Serah smiled, more cheerful. "By the way, Hope, is it just me, or you seem happier than usual?"

He shortly shrugged.

"The happiness isn't mine. It is what is around me what you see. I am… let us say, quite limited, experiencing it for myself."

Serah accepted his answer, but she kept looking at the angel with great interest, as if she was waiting for a reaction anytime. She occasionally looked at Lightning, something that was making the young woman nervous.  _"What the hell is she thinking about?"_

It was contradictory, Lightning thought. Hope was like a mirror of what happened around him, some kind of funnel, in a sense. He reflected both joy and happiness and anger and hatred, but it was nothing but a mere reflection. A shadow of much deeper concepts.  _"But by himself he's unable to reproduce them. Or at least, he says he's limited to do it. To what extent he's able to feel, if he does at all?"_

She shook her head, trying not dwelling in the issue. But deep in her heart, Lightning was increasingly intrigued by all the things she was finding out about Hope. His existence was filled by chains of all kinds. Not just physical like his brand of servitude, but there were forced chains binding his very being. Chains to a place he didn't call home and now in a world where he didn't belong. It was hard to think that a winged creature was such a prisoner.

But she recalled Hope mentioned he had never flown before, that very morning.  _"He's been chained since the moment he was created. He doesn't know what life is, nor freedom, to the point he's unable to experience his own feelings."_

However, while the three of them walked the crowded streets of Yusnaan, full of people enjoying the revels, Lightning couldn't help but crack a bitter half-smile.

_"_ _To be honest, he's not the only one who has been chained his whole life."_


	20. Prison

“Nothing here. This isn’t working”, Serah sighed, reading tiredly the book. “It doesn’t say anything about secret passages or anything like that.”

Lightning, Serah and Hope were in the library of the Palace of Yusnaan’s archives, examining books and more books that detailed the stories of the construction and maps of the city. They had been like that for several days without success, despite the hours they spent on the task. It was quite a tedious work, and they only stopped to eat, sleep and have some walks around Yusnaan to relax, and also for Hope to try tracking Pandaemonium’s presence. Something that, to date, neither had worked.

“These books seem too recent”, Lightning noted, reading the dates of the book she was reading, clearly annoyed. “Of course, if we want some detail on hidden passageways angels might have built to protect a fal’Cie, we should go read records older than 3131 years.”

“Why?”, Hope was the only one who found interesting this task; in fact, the Farron sisters had found him reading books that had nothing to do with what they had in hand. “Aren’t historians supposed to record everything that happened?”

“Supposedly, yes. But remember the Order has been trying to erase the previous history before their rise to power for more than three thousand years”, Lightning growled. “Though in this case, they’d be more than delighted to find a record of a passage that might lead to a fal’Cie. I guess, if there was a written report, it’d be hidden so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“Then if it is hidden, why are we looking for it in here?”, the angel asked.

“Because it’s the only clue we have”, Serah smiled, a bit wryly. “You see, the files are pretty huge. Perhaps amidst all these books a record sneaked in. It wouldn’t be easy to find it if they left it here.”

“And I doubt anyone but us had the guts to try”, Lightning sarcastically snorted. “Fortunately for us, we’re l’Cie. We have all the time in the world to read all these books.”

Hope didn’t understand why the Farron sisters were so bored. He was glad to read those books. At first it was difficult for him to get used to the humans’ writing, a very simple version of God’s script, but now it could be said he was devouring the books. _“They tell very interesting stories. I wonder if they really happened or they imagined them”_ , the angel thought. _“But I am not allowed to lie. However, humans can turn lies into beautiful stories.”_

Serah looked out the window of the library. It was getting dark, and fireworks began to illuminate Yusnaan’s sky.

“I think it’s enough for today”, she said, closing the book. “Besides, Snow and I are going to see a play in the Augur’s Quarter tonight, so I want to primp up myself a bit.”

“But you’re not looking bad”, Hope said tilting his head.

Serah laughed.

“Thanks, Hope, but I didn’t mean I was going to do it because I look bad. It’s just to look a little more pretty.”

“Why? You’re not ugly.”

“Leave it, Serah”, Lightning intervened, shooting the angel an amused glance. “He’s hopeless, despite his name.”

“At least, since Hope can’t lie, he’s given me quite the rush of self-esteem I needed tonight”, Serah smiled. “Well, I’m going. You two should relax a bit too.”

And with these words, she waved them goodbye, she put back the book on the shelf and left the room. Lightning followed her with her gaze, feeling a nasty void inside at the prospect of her sister rather going out with Snow than sharing her time with her. Even though they had been engaged for more than a year, the young woman still couldn’t assume it.

“You should not worry that much about Serah”, Hope suddenly said; Lightning looked up at him, and she saw the angel looking at her with his head cocked. “Snow will take care of her.”

Lightning didn’t know if Hope meant he’d take care of her that night or if his words involved a longer period of time. In any case, it was undeniable he had hit home.

“It’s my sister”, she replied, not really wanting to talk about it. “It’s only logical I worry about her. I just want her to be safe, is that a bad thing?”

“Of course not. Protecting the lives of those who are in need is never a bad thing. But…”, Hope looked unsure. “One thing is to protect, and being overprotective is a different one. Overprotection involves the loss of freedom. It is another way of an imprisonment.”

She stared at him, getting what he meant. And she didn’t like what he was insinuating. In a sense, though, because once again, Hope showed his gift to say plain truths.

“What do you even know? You have no idea of what it means to have a family, or rather, being responsible of the only one you have.”

Hope looked away, slightly frowning.

“I know nothing about having a family. But I do know about what is to be overprotected at the expense of freedom”, he murmured thoughtfully. “Maybe Pandaemonium knows what it feels like as well. Do you think fal’Cie wanted to be free, too?”

The question caught Lightning off-guard, mainly because Hope asked it after making a comment like that. It was puzzling how the young angel was able to say those things with such resignation. Well, resignation or indifference. Lightning couldn’t be sure of how deep his emotions could get.

“Fal’Cie didn’t have much free will”, she finally replied, still thinking about Hope’s previous comment, “but the truth is many of them turned against their masters. They were created for just one purpose, and they were chained to it.”

“And when they wanted to be free, they ended up turned to crystal forever”, he mused, more to himself than to her. “They paid for their rebellion with their lives. That is what you told me. So, in the end, they were never allowed to be free.”

Lightning shot him a questioning look. It wasn’t unusual to hear Hope thinking aloud, but she felt like what he said was just a small part of what was going through his head. And in the time she knew him, she was well aware it wasn’t easy to figure out what was going through the head of an angel.

“It’d do you well if we go out for a while to breathe fresh air”, she replied closing the book and getting up. “When you’re tired, you start saying weird things.”

“You think so?”, Hope frowned doubtfully. “But we have been looking for the fal’Cie for days now and we still haven’t found anything.”

“Tell me about it. But Serah’s right, we have to take breaks or our brains will explode”, Lightning sighed. “You want to have a walk?”

“Fine”, the angel closed the book. “But where do you want us to go? You have shown me almost the whole city already, except for the place you say I wouldn’t like.”

“Because I know you wouldn’t stand even five minutes near the Slaughterhouse. You’d get sick; I know violence and blood isn’t your thing. We could buy something to eat in the Aromatic Market and go to the beach. There is much quieter, so what do you think?”

Hope considered the offer for a bit. It was true that Yusnaan’s nightly bustle was uncomfortable for him, though it was at that hour when he felt stronger because of the happiness and joy of the ambient, and Lightning didn’t like crowds as well. But the times they’d been on the beach he had felt strangely nervous. Lightning told him the industrial area was a place where Cosmic Chaos infusions commonly appeared, but the angel wasn’t sure if it was because of that.

However, spending his evenings with Lightning after hours searching exhaustively every book in the library for Pandaemonium was quite nice. She showed him the city and told him things about it whenever he asked her.

“Okay.”

* * *

 

Hours later, late at night, Lightning was trying to sleep when she heard her bedroom’s door opening. Startled, she sat on the bed and reached for her sword when she recognized Serah’s traits in the moonlight streaming through the window.

“Sis?”, Serah whispered, smiling. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep. What is it?”

“Oh, nothing”, her sister entered the room, smiling wider. “Snow and I just came back from watching the play, and I wondered if Hope and you were here, or if you were out.”

“It’s three o’clock in the morning”, Lightning shook her head. “Where do you want us to go at this hour?”

Serah shrugged.

“People don’t sleep much in Yusnaan at night, you know.”

“And they don’t let sleep as well”, Lightning grunted. “I’d rather have not come here. I know you’re happy to be here with Snow, but–”

“I know, sis”, Serah put a hand on her sister’s arm, reassuringly. “I know how hard this is for you. For me it is sometimes, too, but not as much as for you.”

Lightning frowned, but she said nothing. She wouldn’t be saying anything Serah didn’t already know.

“So, what have you and Hope done?”, Serah asked then. “Did you go outside in the end?”

“For a while”, Lightning replied, yawning. “We went to the beach; he likes it there. He says he gets a bit nervous in there, but prefers it to the crowds. On that we agree.”

“He gets nervous, he says?”

“Yeah. Because of the Cosmic Chaos around the place, I guess.”

Serah tilted her head, thoughtfully. Lightning, meanwhile, recalled the evening she spent with the angel, not very different from previous walks they had in Yusnaan in their breaks. They bought something to eat in the Aromatic Market, which was cheaper than in the restaurants of the Glutton’s Quarter, and they went to the beach. There, they sat on the sand, or the rocks, and they talked: Lightning told him stories about the city or her adventures with fellow l’Cie fighting the Order, and Hope listened closely and asked her questions. The angel usually didn’t talk much, but he was a good listener. His curiosity, so innocent, encouraged the young woman to share her life experiences with him, something she wasn’t used to do with anyone.

The truth was Lightning felt more comfortable spending her time with Hope in secluded places so they got much less attention. Not only as a precaution measure, but because she had realized the angel attracted quite the number of undesirable –and annoying– looks. She had never liked people to notice her, and when eyes followed Hope, inevitably they went through her as well. Lightning understood why the angel’s looks were, at least, unique: a tall, lean, white-skinned, fine-featured, messy silver-haired green-eyed specimen with a scar over his left eye, and thank God his pointy ears weren’t that visible. His physique was quite different from humans, no doubt about that… But then there were the comments she had picked up from not few women they passed by about him. That annoyed the young woman greatly, how shameless the people of Yusnaan were; true, it was the City of Revelry and it was famous for hosting the pleasures of food, leisure, blood and love. But everything was so frivolous. Thinking that innocent Hope could be a victim of such frivolity was driving her nuts.

Obviously, she wasn’t going to tell Serah. Her sister tended to take things out of context pretty quickly.

“I guess he can’t sleep, too”, Serah said then. “When I passed by his room to see him, he wasn’t there.”

Lightning turned abruptly to her, jumping out of bed.

“He wasn’t there?! But he came with me! I left him in his room before coming here! Where could he be?”

“Hey, calm down. It doesn’t have to have happened anything to him. Maybe he’s just gone for a walk around the palace. It’s not the first time he’s not in his room at night.”

Her sister raised an eyebrow.

“And how do you know that?”

“Sometimes I wake up at night and go to the bathroom, for basic needs”, Serah shrugged. “It turns out, the closest one to Snow and I’s bedroom is a bit past Hope’s. More than once I’ve passed by and I saw the door was open and he wasn’t inside.”

Lightning shook her head in bewilderment. It wasn’t normal for Hope to disappear without warning at night. In fact, he usually stayed in one place until they told him otherwise.

“Let’s look for him, lest he gets into some trouble”, the young woman decided, taking her sheathed sword to her back. “Where do you think he might be?”

Serah thought about it.

“I doubt he’d leave the palace, guards watch every entrance and exit”, she sad. “Knowing him, he’d go somewhere he found interesting and familiar. And I can only think of one place like that inside here.”

There was a brief silence until Lightning realized what her sister meant. She nodded, and left quietly the room followed by Serah to not wake anyone, heading to Yusnaan’s Grand Palace’s library. _“Considering how hard was it to leave the books alone since he found them, I wonder how it never occurred to me he’d escape at night to read whatever he pleased and not boring city records.”_

And indeed, minutes later, the Farron sisters opened the library’s door to find Hope leaning over the table with a book and a pile of them scattered around to the flickering light of a candle.

“Hope!”, Serah smiled triumphantly. “So this is where you’ve been hiding all these nights.”

He was startled when he heard her and turned to them, but he soon relaxed when he saw they were Lightning and Serah, and not some stranger.

“Hi”, Hope greeted, and went back to the book he was reading. “I didn’t want to worry you, if I did so. I didn’t think you would want me to tell you where I was going when I couldn’t sleep.”

Lightning was relieved. At least he hadn’t gotten in any trouble, or, as she feared for a second, hadn’t been kidnapped by someone who wanted to get his or her hands over the Heart of Bhunivelze.

“Hope, what are you doing here?”, she asked coming to the table, closely followed by her sister.

The angel looked up at them.

“I read”, he replied pointing to the books as if it were obvious. “I like the books you humans write. They tell very interesting things.”

Serah examined the books Hope had scattered over the table, and she smiled amusedly when she read the titles.

“You’re reading fairy tales.”

“Really?”, Hope tilted his head. “They are nice. And the books look very old.”

“The fairy tales of Nova Chrysalia _are_ very old”, Lightning explained, who had also recognized some of the titles. “Many of them are considered angelic legends that were rewritten in codes and keys following the Order’s rise. Maybe that’s why you like them.”

Hope blinked in surprise, and he looked at the book he was reading with renewed curiosity.

“So you’ve been hiding here at night to read?”, Serah asked; Hope nodded. “You’ve got to really like reading. We spend all day reading, and yet you continue devouring books at night instead of resting.”

“Yes, but those we read during the day aren’t as interesting. They are not bad and tell things, but it is not the same.”

Lightning half-smiled when she saw her sister and Hope start talking about fairy tales; as a teacher, Serah knew many of them, and besides when they were children they had been told some of them what no longer were remembered in big cities. She was surprised that an angel like Hope liked fairy tales; it reaffirmed her theory that Hope was like a child in an adult body, and for some reason, she found it kind of adorable. _“It’s true he has never read fiction before, though”_ , the young woman thought. _“Being unable to lie, his imagination has never been allowed to fly, until now. For someone who has just entered into the literature world, stories meant for children are the easiest ones to understand.”_

“Which one are you reading now?”, Serah asked Hope; the angel showed her the book he had in his hands. “Ah, ‘The Demon and the Alchemist’. I know that one, it’s a well-known tale in Yusnaan.”

 “That book is pretty old, isn’t it?”, Lightning said, glancing to the worn book curiously.

“Well yes, it is indeed.”, Serah said. “It could be the first written copy of the tale. Look, it’s even handwritten.”

While her sister studied intrigued the book, Lightning recalled what she knew about that fairy tale. ‘The Demon and the Alchemist’ was a story about an old alchemist who studied the Cosmic Chaos in order to condense its creation power into a crystal to revive his beloved daughter, who died long ago. In his search, he came to Yusnaan, and during a walk on the beach, he heard the voice of a demon in his head, who spoke to him whenever he went around there, promising him a solution to his problem if he freed it from the prison it was confined in. But he must first solve a riddle which would lead him to the demon’s lair, a tip engraved on a rock. Unable to decipher it and heartbroken by vain hope, the desperate alchemist threw himself into the ocean to finally reunite with his daughter. The lesson was, as it was usually deemed, one must follow his own path if you wish to challenge fate, not being influenced by one, for the determination needed to survive had to be the one you have yourself, and if it faltered, misfortune would be the only outcome.

“Look at this”, Serah said then; Lightning observed the page her sister was reading. She recognized the paragraph in which the demon recorded the enigma of his prison in the rock. “You see this? Wow, they’ve even drawn the riddle.”

Indeed, a beach rock with an engraved text was hand-drawn on the page. They were unintelligible characters; Lightning had never seen them, and judging by her expression, Serah, who studied many alphabets and languages with more interest than her, neither did so.

“What strange symbols. Whoever illustrated this, he sure had imagination.”

“Let me see”, Hope asked; Serah handed him the book, and the angel studied the page with interest. _‘Wherever the waves break near the ruins of the castle of the fallen demonic empire. Beyond the secret source of all magic, granted by all demons that now sleep the eternal dream. There you shall find me, you who are looking for answers to the mysteries of the world, behind the heavenly white rock that shall lead you to the gates of infernal darkness.’_ That is what it says.”

Lightning and Serah were left stunned, staring at Hope as if they couldn’t quite believe what they had heard. Those were a heap of meaningless characters of a very old book… and the angel had read it just like anybody’s business. And they both knew Hope was unable to lie, and therefore he couldn’t verbalize fiction of his own.

“What… What did you just say?!”, an astonished Lightning asked. “How did you understand it?”

“It is angelic language”, Hope explained, not understanding why the sisters were so surprised. “And those characters are angelic script. I am an angel, I can read them both fluently.”

“Is there an angelic script?”, Serah was genuinely amazed. “I didn’t know. So far, whenever we read texts in angelic language, it was either transcribed to our script or to one of the three gods’ scripts.”

That’s when Lightning realized the implications of this discovery. It wasn’t the first time she and her l’Cie comrades found unintelligible symbols during their travels to find the Heart of Bhunivelze; if it was true an angelic script existed, then it could hide vital secrets that might lead to the Heart… and only Hope could read it. _“Now I’m starting to get why the prophecy said only an angel could lead its rightful owner to the Heart.”_

“It is curious”, Hope said, distracting them both of their thoughts. “I am surprised demons are part of your fairy tales. Though as far as you have told me, they aren’t as bad as I thought.”

The Farron sisters looked at him blankly.

“What do you mean? Demons are demons. The one in the tale toyed with the alchemist’s hopes and made him kill himself.”

“Yes, I know. I know they’re tricky and unpredictable. But I guess…”, Hope looked at Lightning with bright eyes. “Maybe they only were like that because they wanted to be free. Like the one of the story.”

She looked back at him, wondering what the hell the angel meant with that. When exactly Serah and she had told him about demons? Unlike angels, demons were merely fictional creatures that were usually identified with nasty monster with a degree of intelligence and loads of cunning.

“Wait…”, Serah was pale, and Lightning realized her sister had understood what Hope was saying. “When you say ‘demons’… you mean fal’Cie?”

“Of course”, he replied, and then he blinked. “Oh, I get it. I forgot you don’t like me to call them so. I am sorry.”

Another part of the puzzle made sense, and how. Lightning didn’t hear Hope’s apology; she was too busy assimilating what that meant. The angel used quite outdated terms to refer to some things, such as his tendency to call l’Cie ‘Eternals’… and, of course, in very ancient times, the gods had called the fal’Cie ‘demons’. A word no one used in that context anymore, and therefore no one would associate it with one of those creatures.

“You mean… the demon of the tale could be a fal’Cie?”, Lightning glanced to Serah, and her sister nodded, indicating she was thinking the same.

“Pandaemonium!”

“The fal’Cie we are looking for?”, Hope tilted his head. “Do you think it is the demon the story talks about?”

“Read it again”, Serah pointed to the paragraph of the riddle. “If what you said is true, it speaks of ‘the source of all magic, granted by all demons’. The fal’Cie’s name literally means ‘all demons’ in an ancient dialect of our tongue. And as you may remember, Pandaemonium was, according to the legends, the one who gave humans the gift of magic.”

“In that case, this tale would reveal where we can find it”, Lightning intervened, feeling her heart speeding up in expectation. “It mentions a heavenly white rock… You think it could refer to the Astral Spear, Serah?”

“Guess so… It’s the only thing I can think of with that description.”

“The Astral Spear?”, Hope asked. “What is that?”

“Do you remember our walks on the beach?”, Lightning told him. “I don’t know if you notice much the cliffs near the industrial area, but not too far from one of the entrances there’s a very high pinnacle-shaped rock; it’s easily recognized because it’s almost pure white, compared to other rocks.”

“And that particular entrance is well known for having collapsed long ago”, Serah said, smiling widely. “Thousands of years, in fact. Hardly anyone remembers that entrance once existed, and since Cosmic Chaos infusions are relatively usual around there, people tend to stay away.”

Lightning nodded. She was still amazed: they’d just found out like that what could be a secret passage that might lead them to fal’Cie Pandaemonium, and they had found it from a fairy tale book, no less. They had spent more than a week reading nonstop records of the city, and she realized they could’ve gone like this for months without success. _“We’ve been total fools. Who would record a fal’Cie’s lair in an official document the Order has access to? We forgot about folktales like idiots.”_

“Well, that’s it”, Lightning decided. “We now know where we have to start searching. We’ll go there tomorrow, okay?”

“Fine”, Hope, who looked pleased by the turn of events, replied, “but we should sleep if we are going in there. Who knows what we could find.”

“I have no problem about that”, Serah said, and with a happy laugh she ran to the door. “I’m going to tell Snow right now!”

Lightning and Hope saw her disappear in seconds. There was a long silence until Hope got up slowly and started to put back the books in their shelves.

“I guess I have to thank you”, Lightning said after that pause. The angel gently shook his head.

“There is no need. The only thing I did is reading a book. The rest was merely coincidence.”

“Yeah, well. But if not for your curiosity, we’d still be stuck in the same place”, she replied. “Now we have to focus on what awaits us tomorrow, anyway. You think you’ll be able to keep up? How are your wounds doing?”

Hope frowned.

“I am feeling better in general since we came to Yusnaan. My back hurts, but I’m getting used to that. Otherwise, I am fine.”

“Glad to hear that”, Lightning nodded, satisfied, and she headed for the door. “We have to rest, like you said. And you’re the one who needs it more. We’re probably gonna need your help tomorrow, Hope.”

“Don’t worry about it, Light”, the young angel replied, looking back at her, his eyes slightly brighter in the light of the candle. “You can count on me. Now and always.”

* * *

 

“You sure about this, Serah?”, Snow asked, hours later, when the noon sun lit up the sky over Yusnaan.

“I’ve told you already, Snow. We’ve come for this, and I want to go too.”

“For once I agree with Snow”, Lightning chimed in, worried. “Your brand is still awake. And if you use too much magic while fighting, all the effort we’ve been doing all this time could be lost.”

Serah sighed patiently. After telling Snow they may had found out where the passage that would take them to Pandaemonium was, the Patron had insisted on going with his fiancée, her sister and Hope to the bottom of the Astral Spear, a huge white rock pinnacle on the shores of the beach, near the industrial area. But now, both Lightning and Snow were reluctant to allow the younger Farron sister to get into that passage.

“You’re both forgetting I’m a l’Cie too and I’ve been trained to fight as well. I’m part of everything we fought for too, and I’ve not come here as a tourist”, Serah severely replied. “And of course I won’t let you and Hope get in there alone.”

Lightning scowled, but she didn’t insist. She knew quite well how stubborn her sister was, and they wouldn’t change her mind. _“It’s true it’d be unwise of me to get in there only with a half-convalescent angel, but we can’t say Serah’s at one hundred percent…”_

“I still think I should go with you”, Snow said, scratching his head. “This area is usually plagued by Cosmic Chaos infusions at night… and God knows what kind of monsters you can find inside.”

“You can’t come, Snow. You already know that, you’re one of the Patrons. If the others notice your absence, we might get more attention that we’d like. You go back to the palace, stay quiet and don’t do anything reckless.”

Snow raised his hands in resignation.

“Alright, alright. I won’t go and stay behind. But let me make you some way, at least…”, the Patron walked to the Astral Spear’s bottom, and began touching the place where, moments before, Hope detected traces of an abnormal concentration of Cosmic Chaos. Then, with a battle cry, Snow raised a fist, which started glowing with a halo of icy magic, and hit the rock with all his might, which exploded in a cloud of dust. “Aha! It seems they weren’t just old wives’ tales after all! Look at that!”

When the dust dissipated, Lightning, Serah and Hope found that, at the point Snow had hit the Astral Spear, a huge hole had opened, whose edges glowed with reddish light. It was large enough so a person could fit in, something they were sure Snow’s magic couldn’t have opened.

Hope went to it to examine the hole, cautiously running his fingers by the glowing edges, and he frowned slightly.

“It is a magic barrier”, the young angel explained, turning to the three l’Cie. “It reacts to the magic of Eternals. Once we pass through it, the passage will be sealed again.”

“Right. Then we don’t have to worry about anyone following us”, Lightning nodded, satisfied, drawing her sword. “Well, let’s go. We have a fal’Cie to find.”

Serah drew a pair of twin daggers she usually kept in two sheathes strapped to her ankles, and before heading to the passage’s entrance, she tightly hugged Snow.

“Later, my hero”, she said, and sweetly kissed him on the lips as he lifted her off the ground. “Don’t worry about me, I promise I’ll get out of there.”

“I didn’t have any doubt, babe. You’re an amazingly strong woman. I know you won’t let any useless monster ruin our wedding.”

Lightning watched the couple with a mix of disgust and envy. She still didn’t like the idea of her sister marrying that oaf of a Patron and leaving her alone, but it wasn’t just that… _“If I only had what they have… then I wouldn’t have to worry about being alone.”_

Then she felt a brief touch on her shoulder. She turned around, startled, but she only saw Hope, who had taken his hand off as soon as he placed it. The angel’s expression was almost marble-like, as usual, but Lightning had already learned to read in his eyes, and they were shining with understanding and sympathy. She realized Hope sensed what she was thinking and he wanted to offer her a bit of solace. _“He’s right. Thanks to him, if everything goes as I hope it does, Mikhail will soon return and then the prophecy will come true. And then I won’t be alone anymore.”_

Serah joined them, and gave one last look at her fiancé, who waved them goodbye before that, once they crossed the threshold, the hole closed again, leaving them in utter darkness.

“Oh… Give me a moment”, Serah murmured, and suddenly a fire sphere dimly lit the hallway, hovering over the younger Farron sister’s hand. “Okay, we can go now.”

“Well done, Serah, but don’t abuse of your magic”, Lighting warned, concerned; she was leading the march, her electric sword on hand. “Hope, stay between us; Serah, you watch our back. And pay attention to any movement, you know Cosmic Chaos infusions are common around here.”

Hope nodded, staying behind Lightning and followed by Serah. For a long while, the trio walked down the hallway, which seemed to go deep into the depths of earth. They couldn’t see much of what they had in front of them because the fireball floating before them and which Serah controlled wasn’t very big, but they didn’t want to draw much attention from potential wandering monsters.

After more than an hour, Lightning, Hope and Serah arrived to what looked like the end of the passage. It led to a somewhat broader cave, filled by stalactites and stalagmites. And above them a strange black fog seemed to float, so dense it looked liquid; small violet crystals floated in the air.

“What is that?”, Hope asked, looking warily at the fog.

“That’s Cosmic Chaos”, Serah explained. “This is how it manifests in the physical realm, you see?”

The angel was intrigued. He came closer to the black fog, studying it carefully, and raised a hand to it.

“I wouldn’t touch it if I were you”, Lightning said; Hope dropped his hand at the moment. “You never know what can happen if you do. That’s why it’s called ‘chaos’, it’s impossible to guess what lurks inside.”

“Monsters, by the norm”, Serah added, “but sometimes people have been sucked into another dimension, or they’ve become monsters themselves.”

Hope stepped away from the Cosmic Chaos. He frowned and looked around; except for what Serah’s fireball was lighting up, the rest was completely dark.

“Have we got where we wanted?”

“I don’t think so”, Lightning said, shaking her head. “If we were inside the palace, we’d have noticed already. This must be some kind of antechamber, judging by the distance we’ve walked.”

“That’s right. The palace has to be a little further. However…”, Serah took a step forward, making her fireball float around to better see what surrounded them. “Look, the exit has to be that way, but this isn’t just Cosmic Chaos alone. It’s actually a whole infusion.”

Lightning frowned. That only meant trouble.

“Guess we have no choice but going through it.”

“Aha”, Serah nodded, slightly resigned. “We’ve been too lucky for it to last.”

Hope stared at them without getting exactly what the problem was, but he decided not to ask and simply follow whatever he was told to do. They were the expert ones, after all.

“C’mon, Hope”, Lightning waved for him to come with them. “Stay close to us when we’re inside the infusion, you hear me? Inside there, monsters are all but friendly, and I don’t think you wanna end up as their lunch.”

“I’d rather not”, he replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Just tell me what I should do.”

“Being alert”, Serah said gripping on her daggers as they walked into the Cosmic Chaos infusion. “At any time you may find a monster eager to get it on. If you sense anything, let us know immediately.”

The angel nodded in tension. Not just because of the fact a hungry beast could suddenly pounce on them from the shadows, but because something about the Cosmic Chaos made him nervous. Perhaps it was the energy he felt flowing from it… a pure, unstoppable, unpredictable force. Now he knew magic was born from Cosmic Chaos, an alteration of natural laws. And that was something he was supposed to detect. It was a power older than time itself, and it had to be monitored and stabilized. At least, it was what little he knew about the phenomenon.

The trio made their way into the Cosmic Chaos infuse. Despite the thick black fog, Serah’s fireball allowed them to see reasonably well. Gradually, rock began to give way to steel, and the walls of the hallway stopped from being irregular edge to become more polished.

“We’re getting closer”, Lightning said, breathing deeply and accelerating the pace. “Thank goodness, I thought this passage was never gonna end.”

Serah, happily, walked faster as well, but then Hope turned to the shadows behind them. His instinct had just sent him a warning, and the last time it’d done so, an assassin had tried to end Lightning’s life.

“Look out!”, he cried, stepping between Serah and whatever lurked in the Cosmic Chaos. The Farron sisters, who had dropped their guard, were too slow to react when they saw a Cyclops, a huge monster of scarlet body, hooves and only one big, blood-colored eye, pounce on them wielding a large club with lethal spikes on it…

… and it squarely hit against a green magic barrier that appeared suddenly before them. Lightning and Serah saw, amazed, Hope standing before the enraged monster, his arms raised, holding that unusually powerful Protect spell. _“How the hell did he do that? A normal Protect spell wouldn’t have withstood a direct hit from a Cosmic Chaos-powered up Cyclops!”_ , Lightning thought, stunned. Judging by Serah’s expression, her sister was thinking the same.

However, it wasn’t the time to stop and think about t; Hope stunned the monster casting the spell just when the monster attacked, and the Cyclops had been thrown back upon hitting the barrier. Lightning ran to the creature raising her electric sword, she jumped on it and slashed its scaled skin, opening a series of deep cuts. The Cyclops, growling, tried to shake her off; the young woman was forced to retreat to avoid being crushed under the monster’s mace.

“Sis!”, she heard Serah cry out; multiple lightning beams passed over her head when she bent down, hitting the Cyclops, which roared in pain. Lightning smiled, recognizing her sister’s tactics, stunning the enemy with a quick chain of Thunder spells. Thanks to her intervention, she managed to plunge her sword into its belly; the Cyclops bellowed and kicked furiously as the electricity of the weapon and Serah’s spells ran through its body.

But, against all odds, that wasn’t enough to kill the monster, which thrashed in agony and unexpectedly struck Lightning with a glancing blow of his club, knocking her to the ground with a gasp of pain. Stunned, she tried to sit up, but when she managed to pick up her sword and turn to the Cyclops, it was already striking down its mace against her. Lightning instinctively closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

That, again, it didn’t happen: some kind of metallic clang sounded, like a hard object hitting a steel surface. When Lightning opened her eyes, she found out that powerful Protect spell had risen between her and the Cyclops’ weapon, and Hope was at her side with his arms outstretched, making obvious efforts to repel the monster’s attack.

In the end, the angel’s power prevailed: the Protect spell suddenly threw back the Cyclops against the wall in a burst of magic, making it impact against the hard surface and fall down. Exhausted, Hope fell to his knees beside her, but before Lightning could even react, Serah ran to the fallen monster, pounced on it and stabbed it in the eye with one of her daggers with all her might. The Cyclops howled terribly before finally collapsing, dead, and its body vanished into myriads of little crystals.

“That was close”, Serah could say after a deep breath, coming to them. “Are you alright?”

“… Yeah, I think I’m still in one piece”, Lightning replied, thrusting her sword into the ground to get on her feet and rest on it. “Thanks for your help, Serah.”

Her sister smiled.

“I told you I could defend myself, sis”, she said somewhat mockingly, and then she turned to Hope, who was still trying to catch his breath. “How about you, Hope? You okay?”

“Fine… I’m fine”, he softly replied, and he coughed. “Please give me a minute…”

“Don’t sweat it”, Lightning offered him a hand he took, and helped him to get up. “Lean on my shoulder, okay? And don’t make more efforts than necessary ones. You’ve done enough already.”

He barely frowned as he passed his arm around Lightning’s shoulder to help him walk, and they resumed their way at a slower pace for the angel to regain some strength.

“How did you do that, Hope?”, Serah asked after a few minutes, when it looked like the angel was feeling better and no longer needed Lightning’s help.

“Do what?”, Hope looked at her blankly.

“Well, that Protect spell! I’d never seen one so powerful before. You even used it to repel the Cyclops! No one has done that before, not even l’Cie can do that. It’s even hard for us to keep a barrier up from an attack of a monster powered up by Cosmic Chaos.”

Hope looked down at his hands, not knowing what to say.

“I don’t know what you want me to answer. I just did it, Serah. Never before I used magic, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to use it.”

“That isn’t what I meant. I mean…”, Serah tried to find the right words, but Lightning beat her.

“What Serah is trying to ask is how did you cast such a powerful spell, but I think it’s pretty obvious. You’re an angel, right? The legends say they were beings even stronger than l’Cie.”

Hope simply tilted his head, but he said nothing. Lightning wondered what he was thinking about. Of course, it was the first time she and Serah saw the angel using his power, and obviously he wasn’t at his best at the time. _“I wonder how powerful he actually is… or was, at least. He was quite exhausted after he did that. Maybe he never again gets back his full power.”_

In that moment, a steel gate with carvings appeared before them, when the hallway was no longer made of rock but of polished metal walls. A strange eerie red light glowed around it.

“Look! I think we’ve arrived”, Serah announced, hurrying to the gate. When she passed a finger over it, she smiled. “It’s sealed, but it’s a seal made by l’Cie magic. We can open it with no problem.”

“And how will you do it?”, Hope asked her curiously.

Instead of answering, Serah put her palm on the door and muttered the words of a spell. A splash of water came out of her hand, and then the gate opened before them. The trio crossed the threshold, ready to defend themselves at any moment, as the door closed behind them and was sealed again. That place was dimly lit, so Serah made her fireball disappear to avoid getting attention. It was a damp, dreary place, with metal walls and cool lighting, almost aseptic.

“Is this the basement of Yusnaan’s palace?”, Lightning frowned, surprised. “Looks like the stories were true after all?”

“The stories?”, Hope stared at her blankly.

“We’ll tell you later”, Serah said. “We’d better get going; according to Snow, there are some guards around here, and they may have heard something when we opened the gate.”

“Right”, Lightning nodded, and she turned to Hope. “Now that we’re inside the palace, Hope, you have to focus, and try sensing where Pandaemonium might be. Do you feel anything out of place?”

The angel slightly frowned. It was hard to sense anything without knowing what exactly he was looking for. But after all, he was the only one who could do it. _“And this is why Light brought me here. I promised to help her, and I will do my part.”_

He focused as much as he could, tracing the energy flowing in the air in all that area. On one hand there was the Cosmic Chaos, oozing from the deepest parts of the soil; he also detected human vital signs, probably the guards Lightning and Serah mentioned…

… And also a strange trail of energy, a kind of force that he didn’t remember having sensed before. In fact, once he detected it, he realized he could track it down, as if it were a thread linking him to its source.

“Follow me”, he told the Farron sisters, and started walking forward. “I think I may have found it.”

“Wait”, Lightning stopped him, holding him by the shoulder, “you’re going to take point? Can you handle it? You’re not in your best shape yet, and you’ve just worn out after that spell.”

“I’ll do it. As long as you agree, of course”, the angel looked at her somewhat insecure, but he truly seemed decided to lead the march. Serah smiled encouragingly, and Lightning eventually gave in, sighing, though she tried to hold back a tiny smile.

“Right. We’ll watch the rear; you keep your eyes front.”

* * *

 

For a long while, Lightning and Serah followed Hope in their descent through the deepest levels of Yusnaan’s palace. On the way they met several guards, but luckily the angel sensed their presence from afar, so they could easily hide from them and advance unnoticed. There were a couple of times they were almost spotted, but they managed to keep descending to less guarded areas without triggering any alarm.

“Why is this place this guarded?”, Hope asked once they left the guards behind; he didn’t sense any more human vital signs ahead. “They don’t know a fal’Cie is here, do they?”

“Of course not, but in the palace’s basement are stored many supplies”, Serah explained. “Not only that, but it’s said many of the Order’s treasures are kept here. Don’t be surprised there are so many guards; here can be hidden real fortunes.”

“Most of them, achieved at the expense of the l’Cie the Order killed over centuries”, Lightning added, not without anger. “Actually…”

She paused and looked around. Hope and Serah did the same, and found out that, in their way, they had reached a gloomy room, full of cells whose bars gave off an eerie reddish light. The three were in tension, uneasy; there was something in the air that was making them nervous.

“What is all this?”, Hope asked quietly. Serah came to one of the jails, frowning, and she made a disgusted gesture.

“Well, it was true indeed, sis. Have you seen this?”

“Sure I did”, her sister growled, and she turned to Hope, who understood nothing. “Yusnaan’s palace might look bright and radiant, as you’ve seen, but it hides quite a dark secret. I guess you can imagine just by watching this place.”

The angel looked around. All he saw were dozens of jails with bright bars.

“They are magic cages.”

“Prisons, most accurately”, Serah corrected, her voice saddened, as they resumed their path. “The palace of Yusnaan was for a long time the prison in which the Order locked l’Cie down after rising to power. As you see, the cells have a spell for neutralizing our magic, so we couldn’t use our powers to escape.”

Now that he looked at them again, Hope caught a glimpse of the inside of a cage. There was a skeleton in a corner, in a fairly poor condition from what he could see. It wasn’t the only one he saw; many of the cells had one or two half-battered skeletons inside. _“They look like as if they had been centuries here… They left Eternals to die here, probably starved to death, just like that, and then forgot about them like pieces of trash? They didn’t even have a proper burial…”_

“I suppose the tale was more right than we thought”, Serah said thoughtfully. “This was a prison for l’Cie, who are now considered demonic creatures, and the tale was about a prisoner demon who happens to be fal’Cie Pandaemonium, the one who created them. Imprisoned in the same place its creations were after the Order seized power.”

“But once all this ends”, Lightning said, “neither Pandaemonium nor us will have to keep hiding. But we need to find him first. Hope, any idea about where it might be?”

“Yes”, he replied as they kept walking. “I think it is not much further. I can feel the energy becoming stronger than before.”

And indeed, the angel was right. Fifteen minutes later, after passing by more and more jails filled with the skeletons of unfortunate l’Cie, the trio found a large carved metal wall blocking their way in the last room they visited. It was a dead end… in appearance, at least, because Hope went to the wall, frowning in thought.

“No way out?”, Lightning looked around, clearly irritated. “Is this the deepest part of the palace?”

“Hope, are you sure this is where you sense that energy you spoke of?”, Serah asked when she saw him examining the wall.

“I am sure”, Hope nodded, not a single trace of doubt in his voice. “It is here, right on this wall. Probably a sealed gate, if what you told me is true.”

The Farron sisters nodded.

“With angelic magic, according to legends”, Lightning pointed out. “If it’s true, you’re the only one who can open that gate, Hope. Do you know how?”

There was an awkward pause.

“… I can’t say I know”, the angel admitted with obvious reluctance. “I have never had the need to break a seal like the one you mentioned.”

Before Lightning could say anything, and surely she’d do it with understandable disbelief and anger, Serah suggested:

“Try touching it, maybe you can think of something if you do. You’ve seen us open the l’Cie-magic powered seals, right? Perhaps if you use your magic on the wall you get a better idea.”

Hope looked doubtful; he glanced down at his hands, unsure, but he eventually followed Serah’s advice under the watchful eye of the sisters. He cautiously brushed the metal carvings with his fingers, trying to focus on the angelic magic he sensed on the wall.

He didn’t need to do much more, though. Just a second after his fingers touched the wall, there was a flash of light that dazzled the trio; Hope quickly withdrew his hand as if it had burned, while the whole room trembled, and suddenly the piece of the wall that was carved vanished as if it never existed, revealing a dark passage further plunging into the depths of earth.

“You did it!”, Lightning said, surprised. “How did you do that?”

“I have no idea”, Hope admitted. “The only thing I did was touching it…”

“Perhaps the simple fact that it recognized you’re an angel worked”, Serah pondered, as excited as her sister. “In any case, the point is you actually opened the seal! Now we have to go see if Pandaemonium is really down there.”

“Right”, once she composed herself again, Lightning turned to Hope, “and we have to be careful. Pandaemonium doesn’t know who we are, and it may try to attack us if it thinks we’re here to hand it over the Order. We must be very, extremely cautious. And Hope, remember you’re Bhunivelze’s angel; the fal’Cie may not be precisely friendly to you.”

“I’m not going to do anything to it”, Hope replied, staring at her. “We are just going to ask it some questions, aren’t we? I don’t think it’s going to get angry about that.”

Lightning sighed as she took point and went into the newly opened path, ready to strike at the slightest sign of danger. Hope’s innocence knew no bounds, as usual. _“He doesn’t even realize his simple condition is a reason for many people, more than he can imagine, wanting him dead. And a fal’Cie like Pandaemonium, who was imprisoned here to protect it from Bhunivelze, is certainly among those people.”_

They had to walk for a while until they reached a large room, very dimly lit by torches of a mystical blue fire. They could hardly seen anything in the darkness, but before Serah could summon again a fireball to illuminate their surroundings, a voice, monotonous and mechanical, echoed through the place, leaving Lightning, Serah and Hope stuck on the site, caught by surprise.

_«Who crossed the ancient seal? Who are you, outsiders who dare step into my prison?»_


	21. Demon

_«Answer me, outsiders»_ , that thunderous and mechanical voice repeated, echoing in the darkness. _«Who are you? What have you come for?»_

Lightning, Hope and Serah took several seconds to react. They looked around, but they found no sign of whoever spoke to them. The room was quite dimly lit, and they couldn’t see any other person, or creature, in there.

Tension could be felt in the air: the three soon realized it wasn’t just their impression. Little shiny particles started to float around them, and when Hope studied them more closely, he found out it was crystal.

 _“I feel as if electricity is coursing through inside me”_ , the angel thought, surprised. _“The ambience is charged with magic… Is this crystal a consequence of the abnormal concentration?”_

Before he could keep thinking, Lightning broke the silence, in a somewhat hesitant voice Hope had never heard coming from her:

“We come in peace… We’re looking for the fal’Cie that the tales say sleeps under the Palace of Yusnaan.”

There was a pause. Then the monotonous voice spoke again:

 _«I am the fal’Cie that dwells in prison you call the Palace of Yusnaan»_ , it imperiously said. _«Pandaemonium is what they call me. Now let me see you.»_

The lighting became stronger, but not because of the torches, but of something floating in the middle of the room. Something that gave off a bright red glow that contrasted with the blue torches in the walls.

 _«Come»_ , the voice of fal’Cie Pandaemonium commanded. Lightning, Hope and Serah looked around in bewilderment; they saw nothing in there that looked like a fal’Cie, then again neither could say they knew how those beings were supposed to look like. According to the legends, they could take many forms.

Despite their suspiciousness, the trio walked toward the center of the room, from which the scarlet glow came. As they drew closer, they found out it was a huge red crystal hovering over a pedestal, marked with the same symbol the l’Cie brands of Lightning and Serah had.

“You’re fal’Cie Pandaemonium?”, Serah asked in awe. “This crystal?”

Lightning and Hope looked up at the crystal when Serah asked that question. _“The fal’Cie is a crystal?”_ , Hope was amazed. He’d expected some kind of giant mechanical creature; at least that was how he thought its kin physically manifested.

 _«You look surprised, human»_ , the fal’Cie replied, and its voice seemed to echo in every corner of the room. _«So it is. I have been this way for many centuries, a shadow of what I once was, to escape the gaze of the eyes of God. Imprisoned in this chrysalis, my power is much more difficult to detect.»_

Hope was the most shocked by this revelation. So Pandaemonium had taken a form that God couldn’t trace… or rather, that _he_ couldn’t. _“So this is why I never detected any sign of fal’Cie magic on the surface. And I couldn’t sense it while we were in Yusnaan, either.”_

 _«You know who I am»_ , Pandaemonium said then, with a hint of suspicion. _«Yet I do not know who you are. You say you come in peace, yet you have crossed through the angelic seal.»_

There was again an awkward pause. Lightning and Serah looked sideways at Hope, who was in tension. It wasn’t the first time they had warned him that Pandaemonium could take not pretty well that the angel of Bhunivelze, from who it had been hiding for millennia, found his way into its hideout.

“We’re l’Cie, fal’Cie Pandaemonium”, Lightning finally said, cautiously. “My name is Lightning, and this is my sister Serah. It’s an honor to be in your presence.”

Pandaemonium said nothing. It just shone with more intensity as the Farron sisters felt as if something studied them carefully.

 _«I see»_ , the fal’Cie replied. _«It seems your race still survives the Purge of God. However, you are not the only ones in my presence. Who is the young man who comes with you? His aura is unknown to me.»_

Lightning and Serah hesitated again. Hope shifted uncomfortably; now he knew what he had felt seconds before, as if a huge eye was fixed on him. _“Was it probing my aura?”_

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium, this is who allowed us to come to you”, Serah said; he turned to her, uneasy, but the younger Farron gave him a reassuring nod. “He’s an angel. It’s him who opened the angelic seal.”

 _«An angel?»_ , now there was no doubt that Pandaemonium’s monotone tone was tinged with curiosity, besides its sudden brightness. _«I understood that angels left Nova Chrysalia to never return after the fall of the Rising Star. In addition, you are different from the ones I remember. What are you in truth?»_

The fal’Cie’s question was strange, but it was also a risky one to answer. Hope was well aware of it, but as an angel he couldn’t lie. And Pandaemonium most likely knew it.

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium–”, Lightning began, but it cut her off:

_«I want him to be the one who answers me. Speak, young creature.»_

There was no choice, and Hope was forced to indulge.

“I am an angel, fal’Cie Pandaemonium. I was created by God and for thousands of years I have served him”, he replied, bowing his head in respect. “But I disobeyed his orders and as punishment he ripped my wings off and banished me to the surface. Now I have given my word to these Eternals of assisting them in anything I am able to.”

Pandaemonium’s bright became stronger, which made Lightning and Serah slip their hands to their weapons’ handle just in case the fal’Cie raged at the revelation. Hope didn’t move, but stood still, head bowed, waiting for its reaction.

 _«Your words would be hard to believe if not because you are an angel»_ , Pandaemonium finally said, a certain hardness in its voice, but at least it didn’t seem to be hostile. _«I have been hiding from your master for millennia. Yet what you say makes sense. Now I know you are an angel, I recognize your aura. Although it is different from other angels.»_

“Different?”, Serah said, intrigued. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you mean he doesn’t have wings?”

Pandaemonium didn’t answer right away. It was still shining brightly, and Hope hadn’t stopped sensing it was scrutinizing him with great interest and a bit of distrust. _“What does it find so interesting about me?”_ , the angel wondered uneasily.

 _«An angel without wings is certainly a very unusual circumstance. To date, I have not seen throughout my long life any of them lacking wings»_ , the fal’Cie said. _«Yet I did not mean that. Your aura is different from the other angels I have met, perhaps by the fact you were made by God instead of my kin.»_

“Does that really matter?”, Lightning wanted to know; they had come to meet the fal’Cie in order to ask it about other more important questions, but now that Hope’s nature had been brought up, she felt curious. “You fal’Cie created the angels, according to the tales. You sure know a lot about them.”

 _«In the same way I created the Eternal race»_ , Pandaemonium replied, _«another of my kind gave birth to even more powerful servants. Although it shared its discovery with all my kin, only it, fal’Cie Eden from House of Lindzei, knew the real secrets behind the creation of angels.»_

“Fal’Cie Eden created the angels in the first place?”, Serah was surprised. “I’ve heard of it. Wasn’t it the leader of House of Lindzei’s fal’Cie?”

_«At the time it was. Yet it was betrayed and killed prior to our alliance with humans to protect Nova Chrysalia. So fal’Cie Phoenix was who represented House of Lindzei in the covenant.»_

Serah made as if she wanted to ask more, but Lightning beat her; she knew how much her sister was fascinated by the alliance between humans and fal’Cie’s story, but they were sidetracking a lot from the reason that brought them there.

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium”, the young woman said, “I assure you this angel no longer serves Bhunivelze. You can trust him, he won’t betray us.”

 _«It is indeed true his circumstances are unusual»_ , the fal’Cie replied, _«yet an angel is always bound to his or her master in one way or another, young Eternal.»_

“But–”

 _«However, he is a unique case, having been banished by God»_ , Pandaemonium went on, shining intrigued. _«Long time nothing awakened my curiosity. Tell me, young angel, what is your name?»_

Hope didn’t know what to answer at first. He wasn’t sure about what he should say. How come a fal’Cie was asking him his name? _“Angels don’t have names… Why is it asking me about mine?”_

“Forgive him, fal’Cie Pandaemonium, he’s a bit shy”, Serah said then. “He’s called Hope.”

 _«Hope?»_ , the fal’Cie repeated. _«It is not an angelic name. Was that the name God gave you?»_

The Farron sisters turned to Hope in bewilderment, but the truth was the angel was the most puzzled of all.

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium, ‘Hope’ is the name the Eternals who took me in gave me after my descent”, Hope replied after a long hesitation. “God never gave me any name. He told me angels don’t have names. We are just servants whose only purpose is to serve our master, and that’s our only identity.”

 _«Strange»_ , Pandaemonium flashed intensely a few times. _«Ever since they were born, fal’Cie always gave name to our angels. It is true they were meant to brand them as our servants, yet each one had his or her own identity and their names held their own meaning.»_

“What?”, Hope couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Fal’Cie, are you telling me… the angels did actually have names? Did all of them…?”

_«So it is. I wonder why God refused to give yours to you, young angel. The name of angels held a very important meaning for us. They were our servants, yet that does not mean we did not worry about them. An unnamed angel would be a shame: it would imply him or her lacks self-consciousness, nothing more than a mere puppet.»_

Hope stepped back, paler than usual and his eyes wide. If what Pandaemonium said was true, then… why Bhunivelze didn’t give him a name? Would that mean it was his will that he lacked his own identity? _“Is that what he wanted me to be?”_ , the angel was shocked. _“A mere… puppet? A creature without will?”_

He felt then Serah’s hand rest on his shoulder and he saw her looking at him with pity, but also trying to ease him. Lightning, too, gave him a comforting look, and that’s when Hope remembered that, even though it wasn’t the name meant for him, it had been the sisters who gave him one. Now he realized how relevant the gesture had been: from then on, the angel began to develop self-awareness.

 _«God has always been a mysterious figure for us»_ , Pandaemonium said. _«He never got involved in the war that shattered Nova Chrysalia. His children were those who tried to destroy the world they once entrusted to our kin. Yet the Order of Salvation claims to speak on his behalf and it is his will we should be destroyed for denying him. So it is no wonder that if he did create an angel, he would deprive him of his will. A servant unable to revolt, as Eternals and angels once did.»_

“You don’t look to like the idea of anyone denying their will to angels”, Lightning noted; it was true, the fal’Cie sounded annoyed. “And you fal’Cie were who repressed the l’Cie and human rebellion.”

 _«Those were different times»_ , Pandaemonium shone strongly. _«We thought humans were failed, imperfect creatures, and under our guidance and authority our kin thought we could give them a place in the world and use them to fulfill the task the Twin Gods burdened us with. Yet we never deprived them of what they needed to live. We ruled over humans and although they served us, we never denied them their identity. I was the fal’Cie who more insisted on giving your race the power to fend for herself. That is why I gave birth to Eternals, and I was the first of my kin who supported the rebellion against the Twin Gods. In the eyes of the gods perhaps that was what made me be remembered as the demon who led to their fall when it shared its power with humans.»_

“Was it you who supported the rebellion?”, Serah asked, quite interested. “Wasn’t fal’Cie Fenrir who represented House of Pulse?”

 _«Fal’Cie Fenrir was the leader of House of Pulse, but this does not mean it was the first one who decided to take part»_ , Pandaemonium explained. _«I was the one who insisted. I sent my own servant to answer the call of goddess Etro.»_

“Goddess Etro?”, Hope looked up, a bit more composed after the shock of the previous revelation, and he turned to Lightning and Serah. “She is God’s third daughter. What does she mean in all this? I don’t remember you told me she took part in the war.”

“So we didn’t tell you?”, Lightning crossed her arms. “Goddess Etro watched over the cycle of souls and the flow of Cosmic Chaos. When Pulse and Lindzei decided to destroy the world, Etro opposed her siblings and summoned the angels of all fal’Cie to help protect Nova Chrysalia. You could say they represented the goddess in the alliance.”

“But it didn’t last long”, Serah sadly intervened, “because when they heard about it, Pulse and Lindzei sent their most loyal fal’Cie to kill her, and they succeeded.”

Hope blinked in surprise.

“They killed the goddess?”

 _«So it is. Fal’Cie Barthandelus from House of Lindzei was responsible. It is also believed it was the Deceiver who killed fal’Cie Eden as well when it proposed an alliance with humans to defeat the Twin Gods»,_ Pandaemonium said. _«Following that vile murder, the balance of Nova Chrysalia was forever damaged without the supervision of the goddess.»_

“In any case, you can’t kill a deity just like that”, Lightning noted. “That’s why Pulse and Lindzei only could be sealed. You remember, Hope? Same thing with Etro: she was reduced to a crystal, in deep sleep and with just a fraction of her power.”

“So you supported angelic intervention, fal’Cie Pandaemonium?”, the angel asked. It was hard to believe so, coming from a demon.

The fal’Cie gave off an intense reddish glow. By now, Lightning, Hope and Serah had already figured that was its way of expressing what it felt, if a being like it could experience any kind of real emotion.

 _«Ever since the first moment the goddess demanded the angels to take part. It was my former servant, Abdiel, who delivered the Angelic Pledge in front of the leaders of the rebellion as representative of angels»_ , Pandaemonium revealed. _«She became the symbol of freedom for her people, and when the rest of my kin was destroyed or turned to crystal, I was the only one left alive to honor the covenant of fal’Cie. We both fought for freedom of our races and we face the consequences with dignity.»_

“Abdiel? That was your angel’s name?”, Serah’s face showed how curious she felt about the story, and she couldn’t be blamed; not every day they could talk to the only fal’Cie left in the world, who had seen those events for itself. “So she was the legendary angel who represented all of them?”

« _Yes. Yet her efforts granted freedom to her kin, she could never see the fruits of it»_ , Pandaemonium’s bright faded a bit, as if it was saddened. _«Many angels were those who fell in war. Abdiel was one of them. In her name I decided to represent my kin as the last fal’Cie who would remain after our sacrifice. The bond between our angels and us was strong. Abdiel was a good servant and she fell with honor fighting for freedom.»_

Lightning, Serah and Hope shared a look. They’d have never imagined fal’Cie could feel such appreciation for their servants, if they could actually feel anything. Well known was they lacked a heart and therefore they couldn’t have feelings. And for Hope, that made him realize how different his life serving Bhunivelze had been from other angels. While Pandaemonium had honored its fallen servant as a representative of the covenant, God abandoned him in the mortal world without wings at the slightest hint of free will.

Then Pandaemonium spoke again:

_«For such reason you are strange to me, young angel. You are very different from the rest of your kind I have met. Not only because of your aura, for your circumstances as well. An angel created by God, with no name nor wings. And after the angels left, you are the only one who walked Nova Chrysalia in more than 3000 years. Perhaps your coming is a sign that it is time that what was once hidden out has to see the light once more.»_

At these words, Lightning suddenly looked up, remembering what had brought them to meet the fal’Cie. They had already lost a lot of time talking with it, and they couldn’t keep chatting about history with Pandaemonium.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your thoughts, fal’Cie Pandaemonium, but we haven’t come to you to chat about Hope”, the young woman said; Serah frowned at her, but she said nothing. “Now that you mention what was hidden out, that’s precisely what brings us here.”

 _«I understand»_ , the fal’Cie replied. _«I gather that you seek to break the angelic seals that were left behind concealing the greatest secrets that remain untouched in our world.»_

“Well, not exactly”, Serah intervened. “I don’t deny we might need to open some of these seals to find what we’re looking for… But what brings us to your presence is the legendary artifact that’s supposed to be able to grant its owner’s deepest desires. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Heart of Bhunivelze.”

A long silence. Pandaemonium issued a brief flicker, as if it was surprised, and then its red glow intensified, lightening up the l’Cie and the angel’s faces.

 _«Indeed I know the story about the Heart of Cosmic Light»_ , the fal’Cie said after that. _«It is an ancient legend from time immemorial. For generations it was believed its owner would be chosen to liberate the lesser races from the yoke of gods, yet when our alliance defeated Pulse and Lindzei the legend was forgotten, nothing more than a myth.»_

“But now our races are again under that dominion. The legend may not refer to the war against Pulse and Lindzei, but our current situation”, Lightning remarked with a fierce gleam in her eyes. “If we get the Heart, we can bring back King Mikhail, and then we’ll save our people when he claims what’s rightfully his.”

Pandaemonium shone at those words. Hope felt its interest, and then sensed the fal’Cie turning its attention to him again. He felt uncomfortable with its constant scrutiny.

 _«And for such reason you brought the young angel with you»_ , Pandaemonium observed. _«Only an angel can lead the legitimate owner of the Heart of Cosmic Light to its whereabouts. So reads the prophecy, and not without reason. Only an angel can open the seals of his kin left on the way.»_

Lightning and Serah looked up at the fal’Cie at the same time. Unlike Hope, who stared at it without truly understanding what it meant, the Farron sisters got it immediately.

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium”, Serah said with wide eyes, “so you know where the Heart is? Does it really exist?”

 _«I do not know such detail»_ , was the fal’Cie’s answer. _«Yet I do know angels were the guardians of all secrets revolving around the Heart of Cosmic Light. In its day it was not given greater importance since it was just an old tale predicting the coming of a messiah that was no longer needed. In the aftermath of the Fallen Star’s disappearance and the Purge the Order of Salvation carried out in the name of God, angels left the world through a portal and took the secret with them, away from evil hands.»_

Lightning couldn’t hide her disappointment. She’d expected Pandaemonium to know where the Heart of Bhunivelze was hidden. By its words, she understood it knew of its whereabouts… but if what it said was true, only the angels could answer her questions. And besides Hope, an angel who hadn’t even known about the existence of more like him until recently, all the rest left Nova Chrysalia, and who knows in which dimension they’d be. _“We’ve come all this way for nothing”_ , she lamented, clenching her fists in frustration, desolated. _“If even Pandaemonium doesn’t know where the Heart could be, how will we find it? How can I bring Mikhail back, if I ever do?”_

And in that moment, Hope broke the silence:

“Fal’Cie Pandaemonium, please let me ask you something. That portal you say the angels crossed to leave this world… Do you know where it was opened?”

Lightning and Serah turned to him, their expression puzzled. Even Pandaemonium seemed surprised by the question, judging by its brief flicker.

“Why are you asking that, Hope?”, Serah wanted to know.

“Magic always leaves traces behind”, he replied, not understanding why they were so surprised. “Specially powerful magic, and a lot of energy is required to open a portal. If we knew where that portal was opened, and if it was made by angelic magic, perhaps I could track its space-time coordinates and reactivate it.”

The Farron sisters gave Hope a stunned look. Amazement came seconds later, and in Lightning’s case, a renewed breath of hope in her heart, and she gripped the angel’s arms and shook him vigorously:

“You can really do that?! Could you actually reactivate the portal, Hope?!”

“… I can try”, Hope replied, somewhat taken aback by the enthusiastic reaction from the usually stoic Lightning, “but I can’t guarantee you that I succeed.”

“It’s more than nothing!”, Serah noted, exultant, and she turned to Pandaemonium. “Fal’Cie Pandaemonium, do you know where the angels opened the portal?”

The fal’Cie didn’t answer right away.

 _«Angels left secretly. I cannot say I know for sure where they opened their portal»_ , it replied at last. However, before despair flooded Lightning’s heart for the second time, it added: _«Yet as the nameless angel said, the magic of his kin leaves traces. I am more bound to magic than other fal’Cie, and I have been sensing for a long time the trail of angelic forces north of the Wildlands.»_

Lightning and Serah gasped at the same time, unlike Hope who looked at them blankly, as usual. All the angel understood was that Pandaemonium’s hint could lead them wherever the rest of his race had gone. And despite his limited emotional range, he felt a slight stirring inside at the idea. Or so he thought.

“In the Wildlands? Really?”, Serah was genuinely surprised.

“Of course! You remember what the spirits told Vanille?”, Lightning said, her eyes wide-open. “I know you weren’t there, Serah, but Hope has to remember because he heard them too. Do you remember? Near the sea, the north winds… If it wasn’t Yusnaan, it had to be the Wildlands!”

“And north of the Wildlands…”, Serah mused. “That has to be quite close to Poltae. If so, we’ve spent years hanging around and the idea never even crossed our minds.”

“What is Poltae?”, Hope asked.

“It’s a village. We’ll tell you later.”

 _«I am glad to hear the Haven still stands»_ , Pandaemonium said. _«If it is true you have asked the spirits of nature, and they have guided you to the same place, then follow their guide and go there. Perhaps you shall be able to find the exiled angels after more than three millennia. They may answer all the enigmas you are eager to unravel.»_

Lightning was going to reply, but in that moment Hope suddenly raised his head and turned to the room’s entrance, his eyes gleaming. The Farron sisters had already seen the angel’s sixth sense in action more than once, and identified the symptoms: whenever Hope tensed, that generally meant ‘danger’.

“What’s wrong, Hope?”, Serah asked him, alarmed. He briefly closed his eyes, focusing, and brought two fingers to his temple.

“I sense humans… They’re drawing close. They are coming, and I think they don’t have good intentions.”

Lightning and Serah paled, and even Pandaemonium’s bright seemed to fade. But Hope couldn’t lie, and if he said people were coming for them, then it had to be true. As unlikely as the possibility was.

“What?!”, Lightning could exclaim in disbelief after a shocked silence. “That’s impossible! This place’s supposed to be sealed and hidden by angelic magic! It should be undetectable!”

 _«The seal of this chamber is not like the seals conjured by the magic of Eternals you have come across with so far»_ , Pandaemonium said then. _«These seals close on their own once the threshold is crossed. Yet this one has to be closed manually each time you enter and exit it, since my power causes interference in the normal flow of angelic magic. Should I assume when you crossed the threshold you did not seal the barrier behind you?»_

The two l’Cie and the angel looked at each other. The Farron sisters were livid in horror, and Hope, despite his usual marble-like expression, showed a spark of fear in his eyes.

 _«I see that is so»_ , the fal’Cie gave off a strong glow. _«Therefore they have detected our presence. Through the gap has leaked my power, without protection it is not difficult to sense. They may not know what is hidden here, yet once they find out, they shall not hesitate in destroying us all.»_

“Damn!”, no one knew better than Lightning what fal’Cie Pandaemonium’s fall would mean; the young woman unsheathed her electric sword and made a brusque gesture to her sister and Hope. “We’ve got to get out of here and seal the gate before it’s too late!”

Hope nodded, and Serah drew her daggers too before turning to Pandaemonium:

“We’re sorry to leave you this way, fal’Cie Pandaemonium. We didn’t really want to cause you any trouble! We’ll protect you, we swear we won’t allow any Secutor get in here!”

 _«You had no way of knowing about the seal»_ , Pandaemonium replied, its bright fading to the point it almost extinguished. _«Leave hastily, young creatures. I will enter stasis so the nameless angel can seal the threshold with no interference.»_

Serah and Hope were quick to follow Lightning, who had started to run toward the chamber’s entrance without stopping to bid farewell to the fal’Cie. Behind them, Pandaemonium’s light completely faded, just like the supernatural fire from the torches, leaving them in total darkness, but by then the trio entered the corridor that would lead them to the antechamber where the sealed wall was… only that, as the fal’Cie said, it was no longer sealed. A mistake that could be fatal if they didn’t get to it on time. _“You idiot! Why didn’t we make sure the entrance was sealed after we crossed it?”_ , Lightning chided herself, furious; she’d been so eager to enter the fal’Cie’s chamber so it would finally reveal her where the Heart of Bhunivelze was she overlooked that detail.

At last they saw a faint light in the distance, the gate they crossed before, and as they came closer, they noticed a soft golden glow in its boundaries; it was the open seal, and to the trio’s horror, they also heard unknown distant voices.

When they got to the room of magic jails, the voices drew closer and closer. Her nerves to the skin, Lightning turned to Hope:

“Seal it! Quick, Hope!, what are you waiting for?!”

The angel shot her a look full of fear and insecurity.

“I… I don’t know how, Light! Never… I’ve never done so!”

“Hell, I know you’ve never done so! But if you don’t, we’re all doomed! So do it now!”

“Calm down, Hope”, Serah had noted the angel’s unusual nervousness, and even though they couldn’t blame him given the situation, that wouldn’t help him. “Do you remember how you opened it? Just do the same! I’m sure you can think about something. Come on, try it!”

Hope wasn’t so convinced, and kept glancing sideways at Lightning and around, undoubtedly sensing all the Secutors drawing closer. But he nodded and put a hand on the wall. It took him several seconds during which he had to slowly breathe to calm himself down, but at last the wall gave off an intense golden glow and the gap closed as it never existed before.

It was really on time, because in the moment the threshold was sealed, a group of Secutors, wearing the black uniforms of the Yusnaan division of the Order, went downstairs and reached that room, the deepest in the palace.

“Intruders!”, one of them shouted, and all of them raised their bayonets. “Stop them!”

Lightning swore to herself. She cast as fast as she could a Protect spell to protect Serah and Hope from the burst of bullets that rained on them, and they bounced against the green barrier that appeared before them. Seizing the opportunity her sister gave her, Serah cast a Fira spell on the Secutors; two of them were caught on fire, and the others stopped the attack in surprise.

“They’re mages!”, one Secutor warned, a hint of panic in his voice, muffled under his helmet.

“No mage is so powerful to cast those spells so easily!”, the one who seemed to be their leader replied. “They have to be l’Cie! And you know what we must do to those demons!”

 _“Damn it!”_ , Lightning thought, pale. She hadn’t stopped to think about the consequences of using magic before the Order’s soldiers. It wasn’t the same as when she faced those mercenaries in Luxerion’s alleys: they probably didn’t know to tell a powerful mage from a l’Cie, something the Order’s members _did_ know, since they were trained specifically for it, both soldiers and priests.

“Kill them!”, the leader of the Secutors yelled. The soldiers got ready to strike again, but by then Lightning had already pounced on them, wielding her electric sword with a war cry. In mere five seconds, she killed three of the Secutors in a chain of quick and deadly accurate slashes.

“Let’s go!”, Serah touched Hope in his arm and ran to where her sister was dealing with the Secutors. The angel hesitated, but he finally shook his head and went to them.

The Secutors fired their weapons fast and furiously, but they had no chance against the two sisters fighting together. They both were perfectly coordinated, knowing each move from each other and eliminating anyone who dared stand before them, with their magic and sword and daggers. In only five minutes, Lightning and Serah had slain most of the group, and they were swiftly moving between the fallen Secutors’ bodies.

Lightning had plunged her sword in one of the soldiers’ belly when all of a sudden the last remaining one pointed his bayonet at her back. Serah shouted a warning, but she knew she’d not get in time to protect her sister…

And then, just when the Secutor fired, a green barrier appeared between Lightning and him, so the bullet bounced on the Protect spell directly towards the one who fired them. The soldier fell to the ground crying in pain when the bullet hit him in the leg; Lightning didn’t hesitate a single second as she turned and killed him with a single stroke of her sword.

Serah turned to Hope, whose hand still was outstretched towards where he cast his Protect spell. It hadn’t been as spectacular as before, during the fight against the Cyclops, but it certainly was stronger that any Protect Lightning and Serah could conjure.

“Thank you, Hope”, Lightning sighed, nailing the sword in the ground, her hands slightly shaking because of the tension. “Though you could’ve helped us a bit earlier, don’t you think?”

Hope glanced to the circle of corpses littered on the floor and the blood staining the ground. His expression was harder than usual, and she remembered how much the angel hated violence and bloodshed.

“I won’t raise my hand against the lives I was entrusted to protect”, he replied in a low voice. “I won’t take the life from living things, but I can prevent you from being hurt. I know we have to kill them, but I won’t. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry”, Serah reassured him with a smile that belied her bloodied daggers. “Don’t you worry, Hope. We’ll do the fighting, and we’ll do better if you protect us.”

“Anyway, Serah, don’t push yourself more than necessary. You know what’s at stake”, Lightning replied, and stood once again she regained her breath. “We’ve got to get out of here. I don’t know if we killed all of them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them slipped away to give the warning. And if the word that we’re l’Cie spreads… you can imagine what comes next.”

“They’re coming”, Hope said, his fingers on his temples. “There are many of them, and they want to hurt us.”

“We can’t kill them all, sis. If we do that, we’ll get too much attention, and no one would doubt we’re l’Cie”, Serah intervened. “Not to mention these magical jails. They interfere with our magic, you know.”

Lightning snorted. She hadn’t thought of that. Now she had no choice: without their magic at full capacity, confronting all those Secutors was suicide. And, as her sister pointed out, killing so many would draw too much attention from the Order, and that could bring Snow a lot of trouble.

“Right”, she finally said, “we’ll find a solution to this. If we go to the upper floors, we’ll find the supply railways to the monorail. We’ll escape from them.”

“Why don’t we escape from where we came in?”, Hope asked.

“You really think we have time to find that one? It’s loads easier to find the railways. Besides, that’s a secret passage. We’re not going to lead those bastard Secutors in there.”

And without waiting for any reply, Lightning gestured to them and ran upstairs. With no choice, Serah and Hope followed her, leaving behind the circle of Secutor corpses.

They didn’t get too far, despite Lightning’s rush. In the next room, when they were about to reach the stairs that would get them to an upper floor, another group of soldiers came down, guns drawn.

Lightning, Serah and Hope were forced to stop in their tracks and prepare to fight. In case they needed more confirmation, by the time it was clear it wasn’t going to be easy getting out of that prison.

 _“But I won’t stop”_ , Lightning thought, fierce determination in her blue eyes as she raised her sword. _“You’re not gonna stop me now that I know where I have to go.”_

And if she had to break through all those solders… so be it.

“Slay the demons!”


	22. Desert

"Hurry up! Run!", Lightning shouted to Serah and Hope, and they jumped from the top of the monorail tracks to the huge, hanging highway that was several meters beneath them and disappeared on the horizon. Before going after them, she cast a Thundaga spell on the Secutors pursuing them. Many of them fell almost instantly: it was a high-level spell cast by a l'Cie. Generally, normal humans had little to do against that.

Lightning landed next to her younger sister and Hope, who had bent and was wincing. Even though it was a fall that both l'Cie and angels could stand without problem, she guessed Hope had hurt his battered back. She swore to herself.  _"I hope that won't prevent you from running for your life, for your own sake."_

"You okay?", Serah asked the angel, who nodded too quickly.

"I am fine… It's nothing that can stop me from keeping your pace."

"Then it's time to prove it!", Lightning warned pointing upwards; the Secutors couldn't jump from so high, but they could see the antigravity-propelled vehicles coming from the city. "C'mon, don't stay there! We have to get away from Yusnaan as soon as possible!"

"But, sis…!", Serah protested, looking to the city. "What about Snow? He doesn't know what happened to us!"

"We can't worry about him just now!", Lightning took her sister by the wrist and pulled her. "Serah, we don't have time for this! Don't make me drag you with me!"

Serah didn't look pleased, but she eventually gave in. The Farron sisters ran down the highway, followed by Hope; the angel's back hurt, but he still was able to keep up with Lightning and Serah, who received physical training and of course were l'Cie and therefore had superhuman abilities. One might wonder how fast Hope could've run in full power.

They ran without pause, although night was drawing closer and closer, and it was increasingly difficult to see around them. At any time they could stumble upon an ambush, and so they tried to constantly stay alert.

Then, suddenly, a burst of gunfire came from the air behind them. Instinctively, the trio ducked their heads, and luckily for them any of the projectiles hit them. Four flying vehicles were reaching them, piloted by Secutors armed with bayonets that looked more elaborate than those of normal soldiers.

"Damn it!", Lightning didn't want to waste any more time, but apparently the Order decided otherwise. "Hope, cover us!"

He swiftly turned around despite the pain of his wounds and extended a hand to the vehicles that came at high speed: he cast once more his powerful Protect spell, that was spread in the air. A strong, oddly satisfying clang reached their ears when the first two vehicles slammed head-on into the barrier and flew out, hitting as well the other two following them. They realized that a group of Secutors was coming down the highway when they were forced to break formation when one of the vehicles violently struck the ground toward them.

"Nice one!", Serah smiled. "C'mon, sis, I'll even the odds for you!"

With a wave of her hand, the younger Farron sister encompassed the scattered Secutors, and a blue aura enveloped her fingers. A few seconds later, the entire enemy group was surrounded by a glow the same color that spiraled around them, and their movements were instantly slowed down. Slowga was a spell from the saboteur branch of magic, a complex one and difficult to cast. Using it could've been too much for Serah's awakened brand, but Lightning was aware it wasn't the time to protest.

The vehicles that were still in the air tried to surround Hope's Protect spell to shoot them from above the barrier. The angel frowned, knowing that removing the spell and casting a larger one would take a few seconds that could be fatal. Instead, he pointed to the vehicles and chained the gesture downward; a sphere of dark energy appeared where he pointed and dragged the vehicles to the ground with it, making them plummet with incredible strength. Lightning and Serah were astonished when they recognized the spell, one that normal l'Cie couldn't even cast.

"Graviga!", Serah, the one who understood magic better of the two, said. "How–?!"

Instead of voicing her amazement, Lightning took the practical way: she raised her hand and cast another Thundaga on their enemies, the huge number of bolts ending the life of many of the slowed Secutors and disabling the vehicles. Without missing a beat, the young woman plunged against the survivors sword in hand, and with some accurate slashes and various stunts she escaped from the battle with only a couple of cuts by the bayonets' edges.

However, there was no time to celebrate the victory. Before they could even relax, more antigravity vehicles appeared in the horizon, and they glimpsed far away another group of Secutors running down the highway.

"Damn!", Lightning swore. "These people don't know when to give up!"

"Sis, we can't fight them all", Serah noted, looking tired; using her magic with her brand awakened drained her more than usual, and if they kept fighting they might end up reversing the recovery phase that was so hard to reach. "We must escape before they get to us."

"This is a Major Route, Serah! There's only one possible way and it's ahead of us!", Lightning pointed before of them with her sword. "The other option is throwing ourselves into the sea, and I'd rather face the Secutors than that, even if I have to do it alone!"

"Sis! You're not serious, are you! You can't fight against all of them all by yourself!"

Hope frowned and turned away from the Farron sisters, partly upset by the argument. He went to one of the fallen antigravity vehicles and knelt beside it to examine it closely.

"Then what you suggest we do? You can't use magic as will and Hope won't help us killing Secutors! I'm the only one who can fight these bastards!"

"And here we go again! You and only you, sis, no one else can help you, not even to flee! When will you learn you can't bear all responsibilities all alone?"

"That has nothing to do with–!"

"Come", Hope suddenly interrupted them. "Come on, hurry up."

Lightning and Serah turned to him. The angel managed to put up one of the tattered vehicles, and was looking at them with a compelling gleam in his eyes.

"How did you lift that thing by yourself?", Lightning asked, forgetting her argument with Serah. Hope shrugged it off with a wave of his hand.

"Magic", he simply answered. "Now, come here. We will use this artifact to escape."

Serah gave a critical look at it.

"Hope, I don't want to be a killjoy, but that vehicle is broken. See the rear antigravity wheel? It's all in pieces, it won't fly."

However, Hope shook his head with more energy than usual in him, something that surprised the Farron sisters, used to his serene, calm movement.

"It  _will_  fly, trust me. Come on, let's go, before they reach us… I'll get you out of here, I promise."

Lightning and Serah exchanged a sideway glance, but finally Serah climbed into the vehicle's backseat. Her sister wasn't that sure, but Hope slightly nodded to her, and when she looked back and saw the Secutors drawing closer, she knew they had no choice but to follow the angel's game. She sat down in front of Serah and Hope rushed to jump on the front seat.

"Alright, now we're where you wanted us. What now?", Lightning snapped at him as he gripped the steering wheel with a deeply focused frown. "Are you gonna tell me that besides creating barriers your powers also include repairing antigravity wheels–?"

She couldn't say more: the rest was replaced by a gasp when all of a sudden the entire vehicle swayed, rocked by a powerful gust of wind. A second blast, even stronger than before, enveloped it, and then another one… and when the Farron sisters opened their eyes, they found out in amazement that they were in the air, several meters above the ground, surrounded by intense, bright streams of wind.

"What on the world…? Hope!, what the hell–?!"

"Light, Serah, hold on!", the angel warned without turning to them. Given the situation, Lightning and Serah didn't stop to question Hope's order; they clung to the waist of the one in front of them as another wind blast hit the vehicle and dragged it through the air at breakneck speed, as if it was shot forward. The other enemy vehicles that had come too close faltered because of the strong winds, and took several seconds to stabilize and launch in pursuit of the three fugitives.

That wasn't exactly 'flying': Lightning and Serah had already realized that what Hope was doing was merely propelling the broken vehicle by a variant of the Aerora spell, controlling the wind currents to keep it aloft. It wasn't an unknown technique for l'Cie, but only the most powerful ones could use the Aero spell variants for levitation, and certainly none of them could aspire to do what the angel was doing at the moment.  _"If he can do this when he's not fully recovered yet, how powerful could he be?"_ , Lightning wondered.

Not that she could spend much time thinking about it because, despite Hope's impressive show of power, his driving skills weren't as flawless. It was obvious the angel had never moved such a large object by wind currents before, because the flight was erratic to say the least. Combined with the speed at which they were moving, the Farron sister began fearing for their lives at the hands of Hope's air driving.

"Hope! If you don't make this thing rise, we're gonna crash!", Lightning shouted when the vehicle flied dangerously close to the ground. Though on one hand it came handy, since right after they heard an explosion indicating one of the enemy vehicles had made the mistake of try following their exact trajectory.

"I'm trying!", Hope's face was twisted in a focused grimace they'd never seen in him. Another gust of wind struck them and made the vehicle rise, and below them an enemy one passed and went crashing against the rocks. The two vehicles left launched after them as they began to shoot.

"They're shooting!", Serah said, clinging to her sister's waist as if she was glued to it. "What do we do now?"

"Hope!, can't you do something?", Lightning demanded the angel, but he didn't even turn around, and his answer was rather dry:

"Do you think I'd be able to keep two spells like these at the same time?"

Lightning sighed.  _"He's right, but after such show of power it's natural we forgot for a while he's not a miracle worker."_

"Right, I'll deal with this myself. But we have to shake off those Secutors, or they won't leave us alone. Serah, you think you could help Hope give a boost to this thing?"

She didn't look very sure.

"I can try, but not for long. If I force myself too much, my brand could revert."

"We need just a little more speed to leave them behind", Lightning assured her. "When you think it's enough, you stop. Right?"

"Right", her sister nodded.

After a sharp turn Hope had to take to avoid a rocky crag, Lightning raised her hand to cast a Protect barrier in front of them to repel the bullets the other vehicles were firing at them; in turn, Serah cast an Aerora spell to help Hope keep the vehicle in the air and increase its speed. The Protect remained midair keeping their enemies blocked as they flew off, and before they could fly over it, Lightning cast a Fira spell against them. At the distance they were from them it was hard to know if it hit them and almost impossible to kill them, but Fire spell created thick smoke when they exploded, so they were perfect for retreating or blinding the enemy. At least Lightning saw the smoke raising in the air before they lost sight of the enemy vehicles behind the curve.

"I think we lost them", Lightning announced, but then something came into her eyes and forced her to rub them when they sharply started to sting. It seemed like…

"Sis!", Serah cried, who was rubbing her eyes as well. "Look!"

It was sand. Even in the dusk was recognizable. An endless sea of sand stood before them.  _"Oh, no"_ , Lightning thought when she realized they had taken the wrong highway.  _"This is just what we needed."_

The Dead Dunes, the vast, barren desert that was located south of Yusnaan. And, as the Farron sisters realized, the wind that Hope was conjuring lifted the sand and blinded them. Not only the sisters, but the angel as well, judging by the even more erratic flight the vehicle followed moments later.

"Hope! What are you doing?!", Lightning shouted, clinging to his waist as strongly as she could when they barely dodged a rock spire. "Don't lose control!"

"I can't!", he replied. "My eyes… I can't see anything!"

Lightning swore under her breath. She couldn't blame him, but that didn't prevent them being in serious danger, given their height and speed.

"Put this thing down! Do it carefully, but make it land! If not, we'll crash against the rocks!"

"I… I'll try!", Hope tried to ease the winds, but the momentum the vehicle carried away was hard to slow down without making it plummet to the ground or fly off uncontrollably. Lightning, who was clutching the angel's waist, felt how tense he was, and realized that much tension had to be hurting his back.

To make things worse, it had already become dark, and the moonlight wasn't bright enough to see where they were going. It was a matter of time Hope miscalculated distances and the vehicle's rear wheel hit a rocky ledge. Enough to make it lose stability and for Hope to lose concentration.

Serah screamed when the vehicle plummeted to the ground. Lightning instinctively closed her eyes, bracing herself for the incoming crash.

However, when it came, even though it threw her out of the vehicle, it wasn't as bad as she imagined. Yes, it was painful and made her lose consciousness for a few minutes, but when she opened her eyes again, she found that she could move without many problems. The sand heavily softened the crash, and also, when she looked back and saw the ledge they hit, she realized it wasn't too high. Hope had managed to make the vehicle descend after all, and that saved their lives.

She sat up slowly; she knew she was injured, but it didn't seem serious. Nothing that would prevent her from helping her sister and Hope.  _"I've had it worse."_

She soon found Serah lying on the sand. Lightning hurried to her side as fast as she could, since her feet sank into such an unsteady ground. Her younger sister was conscious, but she looked dazed.

"Serah! Are you okay?"

"… Yes, I think I'm still in one piece", Serah replied, looking around with slightly unfocused eyes. "How about you?"

"Still alive, too. We've been so damn lucky…"

"Yeah, we could've ended up dead…", Serah sat up with a grimace. "What about Hope? Have you seen him?"

Her sister shook her head.

"Not yet. You're the first one I've found."

"Then we must find him!", Serah exclaimed, deeply worried. She stood up with Lightning's help. "We fell front first, and he was in the front seat. Maybe he's hurt!"

Lightning nodded. She didn't want to admit it, but she was as worried as her sister. Even more that she remembered that the angel could've gotten the worst part of the crash.  _"As usual"_ , the young woman thought.

Fortunately, they didn't have to look too far. They found the wrecked vehicle several meters further, broken in two and with its front side buried in the sand; in the pilot's seat was Hope, unconscious and lying over the steering wheel like a ragdoll. The Farron sisters quickly ran to him, deeply worried, and breathed in relief when they saw he was still alive, though, as they had feared, he'd taken a harsher toll than them.

"Hope, wake up! Can you hear me?", Lightning told him gently shaking his shoulders when between her and Serah they carefully got him out of the vehicle. "Hope!"

"Nnngh…", it was the angel's only reply, who barely reacted. His wounds weren't that serious, but Lightning knew well how fragile he was and that his condition was still delicate. Not to mention he'd made a tremendous effort to get them away from the Secutors and keep her and her sister safe.

"Serah, do you think you could heal him?", the young woman asked wiping with a corner of the mantle hanging from her shoulder a trail of blood from an open wound in Hope's forehead. Serah looked unsure at her hands.

"I don't know… I'm battered, and I've used too much magic for the day. If I could, I'd gladly do it, but…"

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry", Lightning cut her, and she sighed. "And my healing magic is no wonder, and we'd just had a nice crash, and we're lost in the desert at night, and a lot of Secutors must be looking for us… What else can happen to us today?"

She hadn't finished saying it when the sisters heard voices coming closer and closer; Serah, alarmed, pointed Lightning the top of a dune near of them, and she saw a group of around seven people that was running towards them.

 _"Why would I open my mouth"_ , Lightning cursed to herself; they wouldn't be able to put up a fight as good as usual after such a crash.

However, before she could draw her sword, her sister stopped her:

"Wait… I think they're not enemies."

"How do you know it?"

"Look, they're not wearing helmets. If they had, the crystals Secutors have for visors would be reflecting the moonlight."

It was true: now that they were closer, Lightning could see the strangers wore loose clothes. Despite the distance, she knew reasonably well the typical attires of the nomadic people that inhabited the Dead Dunes. Though that didn't strictly mean they weren't enemies, she felt much more relieved.

"Here!", they heard a man say. "Look! I think there are survivors!"

"Yes! Come on, let's hurry!"

The nomads soon arrived where the Farron sisters and the still unconscious Hope were. They were indeed wearing loose clothes that completely covered their bodies and faces, but they distinguished four men and three women. They all were armed with scimitars, but they hadn't unsheathed them, which they interpreted as a peaceful sign.

"Are you all right?", one of the women asked the sisters, crouching beside them. "You were in this flying thing, were you?"

"Yes", Serah replied with a tired smile. "We're whole, I think… But our comrade here got the worst part, and it's not that we're unscathed…"

One of the men of the group examined Hope closely, and he frowned.

"It doesn't seem too serious, but you'd better come with us so we can attend you as it should be", he said. "Don't worry, our settlement isn't far from here."

"We were hunting and we saw the vehicle plummeting down", another woman explained as the man who spoke before gave some orders to others, who hurriedly left, "and then we saw the cloud of dust it raised when it crashed. Thanks to that we knew where you fell, and we came to see what happened."

"We sincerely appreciate it", Lightning said; her smile wasn't as wide as Serah's, but it still was sincere. "If not for you, we'd have stayed here forever, I'm afraid."

In any other circumstance, Lightning would've been more distrustful and reluctant to accept her sister and herself being taken by strangers to an unknown place, but the turn the events had taken was very timely: if the nomads brought them with them, they could get away from the wrecked vehicle and make the Secutors after them lose their track. In addition, Hope needed medical attention, and it wouldn't hurt Serah and her had it as well.

At that moment the nomads the man that seemed to be their leader ordered them to leave returned. They brought with them a wooden boat-shaped cart carried by three sand sahuagins, an amphibian animal species that generally lived near the water, but the variety that lived in the Dead Dunes adapted to the desert and could swim in the sand.

"Help the girls get on", the nomad leader ordered to the others. "You two, help me carry the lad, but do it carefully."

Lightning frowned when the three nomads took the unconscious Hope to get him on the cart, but at that moment the woman who got first to them and another man helped Serah and her to get up, separating them from the angel. She forced herself to trust their rescuers, even though she didn't like to leave Hope in alien hands.

Once the sisters sat down in the cart, the nomads gently tended Hope on some rags by their side, and climbed up as well. With a shake of reins, the sand sahuagins started to move, furrowing the sand as if it were water at amazing speed. They soon lost sight of the wrecked vehicle behind a dune, which made Lightning and Serah relax at last.

"You're not from around here", the leader of the nomads remarked after a few minutes, once he saw both women had calmed down. "What brings you to the Dead Dunes? It's not a place where many people come."

"We came by accident", Serah replied with a smile, rubbing a bump that was starting to form in her forehead. "Long story."

The nomad nodded. Lightning knew the people from the desert were discreet and didn't get into what didn't concern them. That way they'd managed to keep their lifestyle in significant peace after the Order's rise to power.

"Where are we going?", the young woman wanted to know, in part as a precaution, and also out of curiosity.

"To the settlement of Mysidia. It's not a big village, but I assure you we'll take good care of you. My name's Fado", the man introduced himself. "I'm the head of our tribe's hunters, and also the high healer."

Lightning and Serah stared at him with interest. If he was a healer, that meant he had to know how to cast magic. He didn't look like a l'Cie, but while magic could be used by anyone, to become a full-fledged healer or mage required certain skills and a certain degree of power.

"Pleasure", Serah said, smiling. "I'm Serah, and this is my older sister Lightning, and he–"

"… Nn…", at that very moment, Hope's eyelids slightly quivered before opening, a crack showing clearly unfocused eyes.

"… He's Hope, a friend of ours", Lightning finished. She couldn't help a half-smile showing up when the angel woke up.

"Huh…?", Hope tried to sit up, wincing, and looked around for the Farron sisters; he was startled when he saw the nomads sitting beside him in the cart. "Where–?"

"Easy, it's alright", Serah told him, and Hope immediately turned to her and Lightning, calming down once he saw them. "We're here, see?"

The young angel nodded, but gave the nomads a somewhat suspicious glance. Lightning knew well enough it was hard for him to trust strangers –in part because of her, since she made him believe everybody wanted him dead– until he started to identify their emotions through the energy they gave off, so he could guess if they meant well or not.

"They won't hurt us", the young woman assured Hope quietly. "They're the ones that found us. They're gonna take us to their settlement to heal us, right? It'll do well to you, you took a good blow. So lie down, rest and behave yourself until we get there, and don't make any more efforts."

"… Right", the angel lay back on the rags, but he didn't close his eyes completely; Lightning noticed he didn't lose sight of the nomads between his lashes. "I trust  _you_ , Light."

Fado, the nomads' leader, shook his head. Though his face was covered, Lightning and Serah felt like he found Hope's distrust amusing.

"Doesn't look like your trust is easy to earn", a woman commented, who was clearly smiling under the cloth that covered her face except for her eyes.

"He'll get used to you", Serah tried to justify. "It's not that we don't trust you, but–"

"It's alright", Fado said, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes when he looked at the three. "That way you'll live longer. It's a saying we have here in the Dead Dunes. 'Trust only the one you love, as they will be the only ones who will not betray you'."

Lightning and Serah shared a quick glance. Hope merely half-opened his eyes briefly.

"We'll take care of you, of that you have our word. However", Fado continued, "once you feel better, it'd be better if you spoke with our Elder. You know, everything in this world goes both ways."

He said no more, but it wasn't necessary. They understood perfectly what the nomad meant and they couldn't blame him. In the same way they didn't have to trust their rescuers, neither the nomads had to trust three outsiders.

_"Much less if they've come here in an Order's signature vehicle."_

* * *

"So we crashed…", Hope murmured thoughtfully, his hand on the bandage that the healers put him in his forehead, "and these people found us. And we are in their town now. Am I right?"

They had spent the night at the nomad settlement by the name of Mysidia, which was close to the seashore, near a huge rock formation shaped like a hand that, as the Farron sisters told Hope, it was known as the Giant's Hand. The nomad hunters led them to one of their tents when they arrived, and Fado, accompanied by a couple of healer apprentices, treated their wounds and brought them something to eat. He told them to rest, and the next night he'd arrange a meeting with the Elder of Mysidia's tribe.

So there were the three sitting on rugs after sleeping until noon. At the time it was afternoon, almost evening, as the sun began to set; curiously, Hope noticed it was now when the settlement began bursting with activity, or so he could hear outside the tent.

"Where are we, exactly?", the angel asked curiously.

"Roughly speaking, in the Dead Dunes", Serah explained; she was the least injured by the crash, and she could move now without issue. "You know, the desert south Yusnaan. It's difficult to say where each village is here, since its inhabitants are in majority nomads, but they've told us this is the settlement of Mysidia."

"Nomads", Hope repeated tilting his head. He seemed a bit confused.

"They're people who don't have a stable home", Lightning told him at his puzzled expression. "They go from here to there in search of resources. In the desert they're rare, so they have to move to get supplies, and they take their villages with them and settle down in places for a while until they run out of food and water. That's why they don't have more elaborated houses, because they have to carry them."

"I see", Hope had voiced his curiosity when they got to the settlement the previous night about why the nomads lived in such fragile and small houses. "And they are awake at night because it's hot during the day?"

"More or less", Serah laughed. "You see, in the desert, monsters come out to hunt during the day, so the nomads find more benefit in staying in their tents in daylight hours until monsters return to their dens at night to hunt them down."

"You know a lot about the desert", Hope remarked staring at them with interest. Lightning shrugged.

"Don't think we know that much. We've been around here for short periods of time, and we know their customs, but little more. The Dead Dunes aren't a very suitable place to settle down, you know."

Hope nodded. He had already perceived for a while now how little life that place gave off. That's why he found the nomads so strange.  _"Why would anyone live in a place where what you breathe the most is death?"_

"But we didn't want to come here", the angel said. "You said we had to go to the Wildlands, right? That was where the fal'Cie said the angels opened their portal."

"That was our intention, but we took the wrong highway", Lightning admitted reluctantly. "Not that was the best moment to go looking for directions, but in any case what matters now is see how we can head back to Luxerion. From there it's easier to go to the Wildlands."

"But the problem is, if I remember things right, the Dead Dunes' monorail station is located across the desert", Serah came in, frowning. "That's the worst of our problems right now, crossing the desert. Without a guide, it'd be suicide."

Hope tilted his head, absently watching one of the torches lighting the tent's inside.

"Can't the nomads guide us? Surely they must know the desert."

"Serah and I already discussed it while you were asleep", Lightning replied, and she sighed. "But you heard that Fado guy, they don't have reasons to trust us. We got here on a vehicle used by the Order, and as you'll understand, that's reason enough to be wary of us. We have to talk to the Elder first and let's see if we can convince him that we didn't come here to cause any problem."

The angel seemed surprised at this. Lightning guessed why: after all, the only places he'd visited since his descent were Luxerion and Yusnaan, the big cities where faith in the Order and Bhunivelze were the law. Despite cohabiting with two l'Cie and having met Fang's rebel group, Hope hadn't heard until then of places where the Order wasn't well met.

"Nomads are l'Cie?", Hope asked, puzzled; the Farron sisters couldn't help but smile at his conclusion, which deep down was logical based on his experiences in the mortal realm.

"There are l'Cie among them, as throughout all of Nova Chrysalia", Serah kindly explained, "but here in the desert things are different. Here, you see, people don't put their noses in what doesn't concern them. The nomads don't care about the Order, though Secutors sometimes come here to sniff around and, quoting them, ensure the word of God is respected across Nova Chrysalia."

"But nomads don't give a damn about that", Lightning added, and she made a wry half-smile. "You've seen their greatest law: taking care of their own kind because they're the ones who would be truly loyal to them. When Secutors come, the nomad tribes help l'Cie hide until the danger's over. They're not prosecuted and much less frowned upon in their society; in fact, many l'Cie have been Elders or shamans in their tribes."

They were interrupted in that moment when three men entered the tent. One was Fado, and another was a discreet-looking middle-aged man with a thick beard dressed in dark clothes. They both flanked the third, whose clothes were completely white and wore a turban adorned with feathers and a red gem. Despite not wearing an extremely ornate attire, Lightning, Serah and Hope guessed he was an important person in the tribe.

"Greetings, outsiders", the man of the feathered turban briefly bowed his head to them, to what the Farron sisters returned the nod; Lightning slightly elbowed Hope to imitate them. "My name's Minwu, and I'm the Elder of the Mysidia tribe. You already know Fado, our high healer, and this is Halim, my  _luna_  and counselor."

"It's an honor, Elder Minwu", Serah replied, since she was the best at courtesy and protocols compared to her blunt sister and of course the innocent Hope. "I'm Serah, this is my older sister Lightning, and he's our friend Hope. We thank you very much for your hospitality and for taking care of us."

The Elder nodded, accepting their gratitude.

"Fado told me you crashed in the desert with one of the flying vehicles the Order's army uses", he said staring inquiringly at them. "You don't look like Secutors, but I still want to hear your side of the story from your own lips."

Lightning spoke then; it was a delicate matter and it was better if they just revealed what was strictly necessary:

"It's complicated to explain everything and we can't tell you the details, Elder, for our own safety. I hope you understand. But we can assure you we're not part of the Order nor we hold any kind of sympathy for them. We ran away from them from Yusnaan, we stole one of their vehicles and managed to escape, but we ended up crashing."

Elder Minwu shared a look with Fado and Halim, the man he'd called his  _luna_.

"We've heard rumors from other tribes that Secutors from Yusnaan are searching around the Dead Dunes", the Elder said. "They say they're looking for three fugitives. Two women and a man. Your story coincides with these rumors."

Lightning's heart sank.  _"So they're looking for us already? This soon? They don't waste any time."_

"Are you going to hand us over?", Hope asked him. The Farron sisters looked at him, surprised by the defiant edge of his voice; for anyone else it'd have gone unnoticed as it was quite subtle, but they were already used to the angel's monotone, so any different tone was clearly noticeable for them.

"We don't have any reason to help the Order with their schemes", the Elder replied calmly. "It's not our business; we tolerate them enough as they register our settlements and nose upon our lives. But I hope you understand we can only conceal us to an extent. I won't endanger my tribe for some outsiders. So I've come to ask you what are you planning to do once you feel better, and see what we can do for help you leaving."

In other words, the Elder wanted to help them escape, as long this didn't involve any threat for his people, to avoid endangering his tribe. They've still been lucky, Lightning though, who was more familiar with the Dead Dunes' nomadic customs. They could've easily told them to fend for themselves once they recovered from their injuries.

"We intended to return to Luxerion, where we live", Serah tentatively said. "But we don't know the desert, and the monorail station is across it… We'd have to cross it, and it'd be madness if we did that on our own. We thought, maybe… you could help us get there."

The Elder frowned.

"It's a long way even for us hunters", Fado said, crossing his arms. "We don't usually travel the area. We don't even settle down there."

"That's right", the Elder confirmed. "We can't escort you there. You'll have to find another solution for your troubles."

"But, Elder–", Lightning were to reply, but then the  _luna_  Halim gave them a reassuring look and turned to the Elder and Fado:

"If you allow me, Elder Minwu, healer Fado… Remember the merchant caravan that leaves in a couple of days? They could join it to go north."

"Ah, that's true. The caravan… Yes, it could be possible."

"A caravan?", Lightning asked. "And you say it's going north?"

"Yes, our artisans and merchants will go on a caravan in two days headed to Ruffian", the  _luna_  Halim explained. "I know it's not where you want to go, but you'll surely find someone there who can escort you safely to the Dead Dunes' station. We can't offer you more, but if you accept, you may join our caravan and we'll take you to Ruffian."

"Ruffian?", Serah looked at Lightning with her eyes bright. "Sis! …"

She understood what her sister meant. Of course, in Ruffian they'd have any trouble finding someone who'd help them… even though she didn't like many eyes on her. But at least she was certain the people there would cover them in case of Secutor danger.  _"I guess it's one of the perks of being popular there"_ , the young woman thought.

"Alright, we accept", Lightning nodded. "We'll join the caravan."

The Elder nodded back and smiled.

"Very well. The caravan will leave in two days, so I suggest you enjoy your stay in Mysidia to rest and regain your health. The journey through the desert will still be harsh", he told them. "Now I must leave, young outsiders, I have to attend other matters. If we don't see each other again, may the Dead Dunes' winds blow at your back."

"And to yours as well, Elder Minwu", Serah replied bowing to him, and Lightning imitated her; Hope took a moment to do the same. "We appreciate your help so much."

The Elder simply replied bowing shortly as a sign of courtesy, and he and Fado left the tent. The  _luna_  Halim, who stayed behind, came closer to them with a serene half-smile:

"I'm glad I could give you a hand back there", he confided to them. "Perhaps many of my people wouldn't agree about involving myself too much for you, but I don't trust the Order. And whoever faced them should have our support."

"So you have helped us because the Order is after us?", Hope tilted his head, as surprised as the Farron sisters.

"Of course. In general, any tribe would even think about letting three outsiders joining their merchant caravans. We're far from used to getting involve in other people's affairs", Halim shrugged. "But if you have ticked the Order off enough for them to come and track you to the very Dead Dunes, at least you've earned my respect, and many around here would agree. Elder Minwu's as well, though he must remain neutral as the laws of our tribes say."

Lightning and Serah smiled, not knowing what exactly to say, while Hope merely raised his eyebrows briefly in curiosity.

"Thanks for your support, counselor Halim", Lightning said, and gave him a wry smile. "I promise you we have no intention of give the Order peace."

Halim kindly winked at them.

"I trust you. And I can assure you the Elder would be most glad to hear that. My  _sol_  may look neutral, but he wants to get rid of the Order as much as everyone around here."

"Your  _sol_?", Hope repeated, confused. "What is that?"

The Farron sisters shared a quick glance and identical amused smile, but before they could explain to him, Halim was ahead, without missing a single beat:

"Ah yes, you said you're from Luxerion… I'm referring to Minwu, of course. The Elder is my… how do you call it? … Oh, yes, 'husband' is how you refer to it. There's no equivalent here, I think, but for you to understand it, he's my mate."

The sisters stared almost expectantly at Hope's reaction, but the angel simply blinked as if the answer was nothing more than something he didn't know.

"Oh, I see. Please excuse me for asking, I didn't know the term."

"It's alright", counselor Halim sympathetically said. "Well, I must go now. Don't worry, we'll keep you from harm and try keep out the Secutors from Mysidia. You just focus on resting now."

"Thanks again for everything, counselor", Serah said, and with a polite bow, Halim left the tent.

As soon as he was out of sight, Lightning and Serah couldn't help giving Hope amused looks, and he took a few moments to notice the sisters' little, mischievous smiles.

"What?", he asked, clearly uncomfortable. They burst out laughing, mainly because of the genuinely puzzled gleam in his eyes.

"Oh it's nothing, Hope. Just that it's the first time we see the angel of God asking someone about his love life", Serah laughed, lying down on the rugs. Hope frowned and crossed his arms, finally getting what they found so funny.

"I didn't know what the word meant. How do you want me to know? Not that I care much about if that man has a husband or not. If he'd said from the start he was his mate instead of weird words, I wouldn't have asked him."

Lightning shook her head, chuckling, remembering those past days when she and her comrades still believed Hope was a merciless angel sent by Bhunivelze to punish those who didn't follow the holy word and law of God. Specially two of them.

_"You should've seen this for yourselves to believe it, my friends, and nothing would be keeping you anymore from being happy at last."_


	23. Fire

The caravan glided lazily through the desert, carried by the sand sahuagins that nomads used for pulling their transports. As he watched the sinuous movements of the creatures under the intense sunlight, Hope couldn’t help thinking how similar they were to him. _“They are but slaves that only serve their masters… raised for a purpose that deprives them of freedom, or maybe they have it worse than me, if they once knew it only to later snatch it away from them.”_

“Hope, if you keep sticking your head out, the sun will roast that little brain of yours”, Lightning said from inside their cart’s passenger compartment; the angel thrust his head in at once, and he saw the Farron sisters sitting on the floor, covered by a carpet. “If we’re inside it’s not for nothing, dummy head.”

“Sorry”, Hope sat by her side, still deep in thought. “I was curious about the Dead Dunes. We didn’t see much when we got here because it was night-time, in Mysidia people are awake only at night, and now we’re stuck between four curtains…”

“Trust me, you don’t want to be out there when there’s sunlight”, Lightning shook her head, smiling wryly. “Monsters are still tolerable. The infernal heat, not so much.”

Hope briefly shrugged. He kept staring at the thick fabric curtains, similar to the ones nomads used to cover their tents, lost in his thoughts.

“Something’s telling me, Hope’s bored”, Serah noted, amused. “Like children when they don’t take with them anything to play with during long travels.”

“I’m not bored”, the angel seemed uncomfortable. “But we have hardly got out in four days. Are we close to that city we have to go?”

“To Ruffian? Well, I don’t know the desert as good as my sister. What do you think, sis?”

Lightning thought for a few seconds. Hope realized she was counting on her fingers as she muttered to herself. It struck him as a bit odd.

“We’ve been traveling for four days, and truth is, we’re swift enough for what I expected from a nomad caravan, specially knowing that people around here take their time… We must be quite close. Perhaps we’ll be there at noon.”

“Don’t make that face”, Serah laughed at seeing Hope frowning; it was around seven in the morning. “It’s just a few more hours. What’s your hurry?”

“I’m in no hurry”, he protested, and crossed his arms. “And I don’t make faces. I have only one.”

 _“You said it”_ , Lightning thought rolling her eyes. _“At least we’ve learned to understand him by what his only face allows him to express.”_

There were a few minutes of silence in which only the wind and the cart sliding on the sand could be heard; Lightning was sitting on the cushions, Serah was lying on her back and absently looked at the nomad decoration, while Hope sat with his back straighter than usual. They had changed his bandages in Mysidia, and since it had been days since the Farron sisters saw the progress of his wounds, they were relieved to see that they no longer bleed. They looked awful –the torn-up muscle fibers and flayed flesh were still easily seen– but at least they had begun to heal enough to stop even the residual bleeding.

“How is Ruffian like?”, Hope asked, breaking the silence. “That city the nomads are taking us to. Is it like Luxerion or Yusnaan?”

“Not by a long shot”, Lightning replied sarcastically. “A city like that would be impossible to build here. No, Ruffian is the Dead Dunes’ capital, but it actually comes off as being a rather large settlement… for nomad standards, of course. People around here don’t really fancy big stuff.”

“But I’m sure you’ll like it”, Serah said, smiling. “Even though the desert isn’t the most welcoming scenery in the world, it has its charm, and to be honest, Ruffian embodies that idea.”

Hope said nothing. For him, the desert smelled of death. Nothing alive grew in the sand, and even if it had, the relentless sun and freezing nights would’ve killed it. As a result, its residents, both humans and monsters, had to survive by killing each others. _“There is a constant purge in this place… No wonder they call it the Dead Dunes”_ , the angel thought, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. _“Even this burning wind carries death with it…”_

* * *

“We’ve arrived to Ruffian”, one of the caravan merchants announced when they stopped after some hours, entering the compartment where Lightning, Serah and Hope were waiting. “Here ends the journey. You’ve got everything with you?”

“Yes, I think we’re not leaving anything behind”, Serah looked around; she and Lightning had sheathed their weapons long before as they got closer to the desert’s capital, and the three of them were carrying the backpacks with healing and useful items they’d been given in Mysidia.

The merchant nodded and waved at them to follow him. The moment they left the cloth roof’s protection they were greeted by a slap of hot air; the midday sun was beating down, and Hope fully understood then why nomads preferred to live at night in that place. Though the heat didn’t seem to affect them as much as it did to outsiders: in fact, the rest of the merchants was already starting to build the stalls and shops around the oasis where they had stopped, and where they’d later trade with Ruffian’s citizens.

“Thanks for bringing us with you”, Lightning told the merchants with sincere gratitude. “Tell the Elder we owe him.”

They merely replied with a polite bow, and immediately after resumed their task. Despite this, the Farron sisters knew it wasn’t a rude answer; nomads were reserved and they didn’t cross many words with outsiders. They were aware their presence had been a burden and a risk for the merchants, and even if they hadn’t talked much with them, they still took care of their guests.

“So… we’re here”, Serah glanced tentatively at her sister, who looked reluctant to start moving, in spite of the unbearable heat. “Shall we?”

“Where is the city?”, Hope asked looking around in confusion. “There is just sand and rocks in here.”

“Right before you”, Lightning told him pointing to the rock wall, about five hundred meters away of their position, standing in the opposite direction. “Look closely.”

The angel squinted, trying to see between the heat-distorted air. Then he noticed that, indeed, excavated on the rocks there were many cavities and holes as windows and arches, and at ground level three large arched entrances were opened, the middle one larger than the others. He realized that the massive rocky crag before them had to hold the entire capital within it, and that’s why he hadn’t seen it earlier.

“Is that Ruffian? So they live inside the rocks?”

“That’s right”, Serah smiled. “That way they’re constantly guarded from heat and cold, and from monsters as well. Clever, isn’t it? It’s the only place where you could build a city like that, and it’s the only stable settlement in the Dead Dunes. You’ll see the people here are different from nomads for that reason.”

“Well yes, they’re loads less quiet”, Lightning sighed as she started walking towards Ruffian’s larger entrance; Serah and Hope rushed to follow her strides. “If we’re lucky enough, now that it’s noon and most of them will be sleeping, we won’t draw much attention.”

Serah rolled her eyes.

“C’mon, sis! It’s not _that_ bad. They treat you so well!”

“Yeah, well, that’s actually the problem.”

“What is the problem?”, Hope looked at the sisters, confused. “You have been here before, right? You told the Elder of Mysidia if he could take us here. I thought it was because you trusted the people of this place.”

“It’s not we don’t trust them… In fact, I’m sure no one here’s going to backstab us. But we didn’t ask the Elder to bring us exactly here; that was just because they couldn’t take us to the station”, Lightning seemed increasingly uncomfortable. “If I had my way, we’d have left the Dead Dunes without even stopping here, and if we’ve come it’s because we need a guide. I’d want to enter, find one and leave without anyone even knowing we’ve been here, before the word spreads.”

“But we have just got here”, the angel replied briefly raising his eyebrows; the projected shadow of the rocky crag loomed over them, relieving them of the burning sunlight. “And there aren’t many people in the desert. How would they know?”

“Don’t fool yourself, news in the Dead Dunes travel fast. You saw it in Mysidia, how quick they learned the Secutors were tracking us.”

“Anyway, we’ve been less than a week around here”, Serah chimed in, partly to reassure her sister, who was getting tenser as they crossed Ruffian’s threshold. “And in all that time we haven’t left Mysidia or the caravan. You really think–?”

She couldn’t say more: she stopped short when she realized that, amid the stone hall where they were, there was a group of people standing, a woman between two parallel rows of four, two males and two females. They wore clothes different from nomads’, since they didn’t completely cover their bodies, but rather exposed much of their skin, and the fabric was light and colorful. The woman between them was middle-aged and though she wasn’t dressed much different from the others, it was evident she had a high rank, specially since the white turban with feathers in her head was very similar to Elder Minwu of Mysidia’s.

Lightning and Serah went still, the former in particular, who had also gone pale. Hope followed suit, a bit puzzled when he felt the rush of discomfort the elder Farron sister gave off. It wasn’t fear nor rejection, but… the angel couldn’t completely guess what it was, since he had never sensed anything like that coming from her. _“It is as if the presence of those humans made her nervous… but not because they would hurt her. Actually, I would say she feels uncomfortable for that very reason.”_

The woman, sporting a wide smile, bowed to them and opened her arms:

“Welcome back to Ruffian, Savior. And welcome back you too, young Seeress, and the outsider who accompanies you. It’s a great honor to greet you once again, and that our capital is graced by your presence.”

Hope briefly raised his eyebrows and looked at Lightning, who, to his surprise, was blushing slightly and didn’t know what to say. Serah seemed a bit awkward as well, but at least she’d managed to compose a tentative though genuine smile. _“Savior?”_ , the angel wondered blankly.

“Err… Greetings, Elder Fares”, a flustered Lightning finally replied as she avoided looking directly at the woman. “We didn’t expect– I mean, I didn’t think you would know of our arrival…”

“We were informed that you were coming two days ago.”

Lightning and Serah shared a look of both disbelief and resignation. Meanwhile, Hope merely blinked.

“News travel fast in the desert _indeed_ ”, he remarked quietly. Without even turning to him, Lightning elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

“Tell us”, Elder Fares said, coming to them, “who’s the young man with you, Savior? Does he have anything to do with your sister’s prophecy?”

Again, Hope wondered what it was all about, but before he could open his mouth, Serah was quick to reply:

“Elder, this is Hope. He’s traveling with us during our trip, nothing more. He’s a good friend of us.”

Hope didn’t know much about prophecies, but Lightning had told him about one in particular that Serah had made long ago about her and King Mikhail. If it was that prophecy they were talking about, then he _did_ have something to do with it. In fact, if not for it, they wouldn’t even be there. _“Why they deemed necessary lying to these people about me?”_

“The friends of the Savior and the Seeress are and will always be welcome to Ruffian”, the Elder declared giving Hope a friendly smile. The angel didn’t know how to reply, so he just bowed his head in gratitude. “You can stay as long as you desire in our city.”

“No, no! We haven’t come to stay”, Lightning cut her more sharply than she intended; she lowered her voice so the Elder’s court wouldn’t hear her. “Elder Fares, we’ve come, we could say, incognito. We’re just passing through the Dead Dunes, and our main priority is going back to Luxerion as soon as possible. And the fewer people know we’re here, the better, okay? We just need a guide to take us to the monorail station, we’re not even gonna stay.”

“A guide, you say?”, the Elder crossed her arms, her face serious. “I’d please you, Savior, but I fear it’s impossible at the moment. Tonight is the Beacon Festival, and all of Ruffian’s citizens are busy preparing the sacred pyres.”

“Oh, yes! It’s true, the festival…”, Serah’s eyes widened. “So that’s why Mysidia’s caravan came here right now, I guess. I assume we can’t count on anyone until a day or two…”

Lightning frowned. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in Ruffian at the Beacon Festival’s time, and even though she didn’t know much about it, she knew the whole city was eager to prepare it. It was the most important celebration of the year for its people. Which meant that she wanted or not, they’d have to spend at least a night there. _“Too much for asking to go unnoticed”_ , the young woman thought.

“The Secutors are looking for us… Elder Fares, I’m not sure if it’s safe for us to stay here for too long.”

“We’ve been warned about that as well”, the Elder shook her head without losing her smile. “By the same person who told us about your arrival, in fact.”

Before Lightning could ask who it was, in part in irritation since her last trick to avoid staying in Ruffian ended up on deaf ears because of that person, a strong female voice echoed in the wide hall:

“Fares, you could’ve told me these three were here already! Why you deprived me of the pleasure of welcoming them as they deserve?”

Lightning, Serah and Hope turned to the voice’s source, which they had recognized before seeing Fang in person crossing the threshold of the right aisles, her loyal spear always in her back. The rebel l’Cie’s leader didn’t look aware of the Farron sisters and the angel’s surprise, and walked briskly toward them.

“Ah, dragoon Yun. Sorry for not telling you, I didn’t want to interrupt your nap”, the Elder replied, and turned to Lightning. “The dragoon Yun is the one who told me about your coming and the Order’s threat, two days ago.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m a great bearer of news and everybody’s great too”, Fang interrupted her before anyone could make any questions, and shamelessly patted the Elder’s shoulder. “Fares, if you don’t mind, I’ll take it from here. You’ve heard the Savior lady: no tributes, no reverence, and no fuss during their stay. Full incognito, y’know. Work issues.”

The Elder didn’t seem offended at all by Fang’s informal and rather cheeky tone, but rather smiled placidly.

“Of course. You can stay in any of our guest rooms, and since you’re going to be with us tonight at least in Ruffian, don’t hesitate to enjoy the festival we’re preparing, if you wish to”, and with these words, she bowed to Lightning and nodded in respect toward Serah, Hope and Fang, and turned to her court, waiting for her. “If you’ll excuse me…”

At a wave from the Elder, the court flanked her, and they soon disappeared when they crossed the arches of the hall towards the aisles. Once they were alone, Fang relaxed, drawing a deep breath and leaning on her spear:

“Thank the lighthouse I got here on time. A little later and Fares would’ve assembled a welcoming parade, sunshine, you know how she’s like.”

“Yeah, thanks, Fang”, Lightning replied, relieved. “What are you doing here? And how did you know–?”

“Ah ah”, the dragoon lifted a finger. “Not here. Questions be asked where others can’t stick their nose where it doesn’t concern them; most people are sleeping now, but you never know. Come with me, I’ll take you where you can rest, and there we’ll have our chat.”

For a while, Fang guided them through Ruffian’s silent passages. They came across with hardly anyone, and the people they meet didn’t seem to recognize them, though they looked at the outsiders curiously. Ruffian was composed of corridors and stairs carved into the rock and covered with engraved metal slabs, and private homes were caves with a large metal door at the entrance. It reminded Hope of a fortified citadel, particularly designed and built to defend against possible attacks and raids, in part because of how labyrinth-like it was.

“Isn’t it impressive?”, Serah told Hope when she noticed the angel’s curiosity. “It’s a very old city, and yet look how imposing it is.”

“Looks as if it was shielded”, Hope replied, staring at everything he saw. “As if it were ready for war, with how hidden it is and all this metal.”

“Ruffian was built by bandit tribes that long ago lived in the desert”, Lightning explained. “They were people who fled the fal’Cie-ruled towns and villages back when humans were under their domain, and came to the only place where fal’Cie had no power since they weren’t interested in anything the desert could offer them, which was rather nothing. The bandits robbed fal’Cie’s cities and because of this they were persecuted, so they ended up building this city as their stronghold, and it has never been conquered in all its history.”

“And that’s why the Dead Dunes’ people never bow down to anyone who tries to impose their law upon us”, Fang spoke proudly. “Ever since ancient times, we’ve resisted invaders and lived in our own way, and the Order will be no exception.”

“Are you native of the Dead Dunes?”, Hope asked, intrigued; he was sure that hadn’t been ever mentioned in his presence.

“Of course I am, do I look like you city-sickly-white people?”, the dragoon shook her head in mock exasperation. She stopped in front of a door, pulled out some keys from the pouch hanging from her belt and opened it. “Come in, I don’t have all day!”

Lightning, Serah and Hope obeyed without question. Once inside, they looked around: it was a room carved into the rock like the rest, with black, engraved stone floor on which there were several woven rugs of the same red of the robe Fang wore over her –rather scarce– armor; they all had the same embroidered symbol, a golden phoenix soaring from a silvery crescent moon towards a rising sun. Several cushions were scattered on the ground around a red granite small table. In that room the main color was red indeed; combined with the desert’s heat, Hope felt as if he’d just ventured into flames. Nothing like the Farron sisters, who judging by their expression they’d been before in there.

“Well, why are you standing there?”, Fang put her hands on her hips and pointed at the cushions with her head. “C’mon, sit down! My home is your home, so take off your shoes and make yourselves comfortable as you please.”

“Do you live here?”, Hope asked curiously, sitting down only when Lightning and Serah did. “I thought you lived in Luxerion.”

“Fang lives in Luxerion alright”, Lightning explained; Fang went to a bar that was a little further and began searching something in the shelves below, “in Noel’s pub most exactly, but this is, say, her shelter, when things get ugly. More than once the Order has been hunting us, and when that happened we’ve hidden here in Ruffian, until things calmed down.”

“And since Fang’s from here, we’ve never had any problems by staying”, Serah smiled. “Besides, Ruffian’s people are much more sociable than the nomad tribes’.”

“You’ve gotta admit part of the merit is all yours”, Fang intervened sitting next to them, carrying two bottles of liquor and three glasses. “Alright, let’s cut the gossip about me and get to the point. Could you explain what have you been up to? You went to Yusnaan to find the fal’Cie and the next thing I know is all Secutors in there have gone nuts searching for you. It wasn’t part of the plan drawing that much attention, as you should remember.”

Lightning and Serah looked somewhat embarrassed. Hope had to admit Fang was intimidating enough for even a warrior like Lightning hold great respect for her.

“We’re so sorry, Fang. We didn’t want to mess up things”, Serah replied. “Not that we had a choice, really. There was a problem with the angelic defenses and they detected us. We had to use all of our power to escape.”

Fang let out a resigned sigh and facepalmed.

“Alright, there’s no sense in scolding you for what can’t be helped now. Lucky for you, I’m well aware you’re rather quiet most of the time. I’m more interested in if all this fuss was worth it. Did you find that fal’Cie?”

“It wasn’t easy, but yes, we met Pandaemonium”, Lightning nodded briskly. “And I can tell you, it _was_ worth it.”

The Farron sisters proceeded to tell the dragoon their meeting with fal’Cie Pandaemonium, the story about the war and the angels and about the Heart of Bhunivelze’s possible whereabouts as well. Hope only listened, wondering once again why he had been created in such a different fashion from the others of his kind, and if it really was God’s will that he’d been denied his own identity. He hadn’t had much time to delve in it after the Secutors’ chase, their harsh arrival to the Dead Dunes and the path to Ruffian. Hearing Lightning and Serah repeating the story to Fang flared the strange, confusing feeling inside. _“Will I ever find my place in this world?”_ , the young angel wondered, closing his eyes. _“Even if I ever return to the Ark, I’m not sure I could serve God again. Not after all I have learned.”_

“How interesting…”, Fang said once the sisters finished telling her their journey, drawing Hope back to reality. “Well yes, it’s been worth the headaches you’ve caused me. So your angel could reactivate the portal through which the other angels took away the Heart’s secret, huh?”

“I said it was a possibility”, he murmured uneasily when the three women looked at him. “I can’t grant you it will work, because I’m not sure about how different my magic is from the rest of my kind. But I can try, at the very least.”

“Whatever”, the dragoon shrugged it off with a wave of her hand, “it’s loads closer than we’ve ever been to the damn thing. The question is, how you’re gonna get to Poltae. From the Dead Dunes’ monorail you could travel directly to the Wildlands.”

Lightning blinked in realization.

“That’s right! I didn’t remember the Wildlands’ ride goes through here as well! In that case, you could take us to the station today and–!”

“Hey hey, sunshine, don’t rush things”, Fang raised her eyebrows. “Even if you haven’t gotten yourselves into this mess, I’d have come to Ruffian the same way. You really thought I wouldn’t attend the Beacon Festival? What irks me the most is I couldn’t bring Vanille with me. So, sorry about it, but you’ll have to wait one day at least; traditions are traditions, and they’re sacred.”

At her reply, Lightning wrinkled her nose, but didn’t say anything. The years spent in the capital and being part of the Order army’s ranks had changed Fang, but she knew her well and was aware that she always tried to honor the traditions of her homeland. She’d been forced to give up many of them because of Vanille’s situation, and no matter how much she insisted, she wouldn’t convince Fang of missing the Dead Dunes’ most important celebration.

“What is Poltae?”, Hope asked then after a silence in which the three women drank the liquor Fang had brought; ever since the dragoon had tried to give him some alcohol –and it hadn’t even been a hard drink– in _The Farseer’s Rest,_ the angel decided not to come close ever again to the concoction that almost seared his throat. “You said it was a village, and fal’Cie Pandaemonium called it the Haven.”

“It’s the village where l’Cie hid after the Order’s rise to power”, Serah said with a sad half-smile. “It’s always been a settlement where there were many l’Cie, but since then it’s where almost every single one of us are hiding from those who want to purge us.”

“Us being the exception”, Lightning intervened, her eyes showing a fierce spark. “As I’ve told you, Hope, the ones in Luxerion are who want to fight. And we must protect those who are hiding in Poltae and the Wildlands in general, so we must be extremely careful to not draw any attention.”

“Something that indeed you’ve ignored during your last adventure”, Fang sarcastically said; Lightning and Serah blushed slightly. “Fortunately for you, the Secutors in Luxerion don’t get along too well with the Yusnaan division. Only two detachments in the capital have been mobilized, which is convenient for us.”

“So how it is that you came, Fang?”, Serah asked her, intrigued. Fang shrugged.

“Well, I got a message from a friend who told me that the Secutors of Yusnaan were getting their noses dirty in the Dead Dunes and that the fugitive l’Cie were on their way to Ruffian. And let’s say, I took advantage of Luxerion’s bigwigs and they placed me as one of their detachments’ captain.”

“You mean you came here with a group of Secutors?”, Lightning’s eyes widened. “And you’ve been here for two days? Wouldn’t they suspect something if you take too much to return?”

“Oh, I don’t think so”, Fang replied drumming her fingers on her spear, a slasher smile spreading across her face. “The way I left them, it’s likely they’ve been included in Earth Eater menu by now.”

Hope frowned in disgust, while Serah briefly shook her head and Lightning gave Fang a knowing smile. In a war where all four of them face the same enemy, it was curious seeing how each one reacted to the foe’s demise.

“Well then, what do we do now?”, Serah asked.

“Right now, nothing in particular”, Fang said swallowing the rest of the liquor in her glass and getting up briskly. “You can stay here the day if you want, and I wouldn’t blame you. I must go help prepare the festival of tonight, y’know. Though of course you’re welcome to join the fun. You won’t stand out much in the crowd, sunshines.”

And with these words, Fang waved a farewell and left the room. The dragoon had that habit of leaving people mid-sentence after spelling out hers, something Lightning was used to, but Hope and Serah were left a bit puzzled. There was a brief silence, in which the Farron sisters shared hesitant looks. _“I wonder why they feel so uneasy, specially Light…”_ , the young angel thought staring at them, his head tilted, trying to read into their emotions. Oblivious as they were, they didn’t notice.

“Thank goodness we haven’t caused as much stir as I feared”, Serah finally said. “Still, I’m worried… Snow doesn’t even know if we’re okay.”

“Don’t worry, probably Fang has already told him somehow. But we should leave the Dead Dunes as soon as possible… It’s not safe to spend more time than necessary here”, Lightning replied rather dryly. Once again, Hope sensed her uneasiness.

“I agree, but… it’d be nice to see the festival. It’s been a long time since we came here, and truth is after four days locked in the caravan I fancy some fresh air.”

Her older sister snorted eloquently.

“See it on your own then. I refuse taking a step and have everyone around making me stop to flatter and revere me.”

“Oh, c’mon sis”, Serah rolled her eyes. “Elder Fares told you no one would bother you! Besides, people will be enjoying the festival, not looking at you. You’re not going to lock yourself up here alone all night, right?”

“I won’t be alone”, Lightning grumbled. “Hope will be with me. Right, Hope?”

The angel, who had been listening to their discussion without much interest, looked up at his name, and saw Lightning staring at him waiting for his answer, and Serah arching her eyebrows.

“Err…”

“Honestly”, Serah intervened, partly to lend the off-guarded Hope a hand, but with a strange little smile on her lips, “shame on you trying to make Hope do your bidding. He doesn’t have to stay here just because you are. Instead of behaving like a spoiled kid, you should go out and get some fresh air and enjoy the festival, it’d do wonders to sweet up that sour face of yours that it’s stuck in there since we got here.”

“Don’t even try, Serah. I won’t go, period. And you won’t convince me otherwise.”

Her younger sister’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she putted her hands on her hips. Something told Hope that argument wouldn’t end there.

* * *

 “I can’t believe I’m doing this”, Lightning huffed, looking in suspicion around her as her feet sank into the sand.

“Your sister can be really convincing”, Hope replied walking by her side; both were a few meters behind Serah. Lightning scowled when she glimpsed the amused glint in the young angel’s eyes.

“Yeah, c’mon, laugh at me. Thanks for your support before, huh.”

It was night, and the Beacon Festival had begun a long time ago. The people of Ruffian, dressed in their colorful clothes, walked the large oasis, browsed the merchants from the numerous caravans’ stalls from the different nomad tribes and danced around the huge bonfires that lit the whole sandy area outside the Dead Dunes’ capital. It was a very lively ambience, and Hope took a deep breath, feeling the positive energy in the air strengthening his life force. _“It feels good for me, and yet it seems to affect Light negatively”_ , the angel thought. _“And I still don’t know why. Maybe…”_

“Goodness gracious, look who’s deigned to leave _my_ burrow”, Fang, who had come through the crowd, interrupted once again Hope’s train of thought. “So you decided to listen the voice of reason in the end, sister?”

“I rather listened Serah’s voice”, Lightning grumbled, to what Serah smiled with mock innocence. “Well, you’ve got us here. You happy now? For your sake and Fares’, you _wanna_ hope no one will bother us tonight.”

“Oooh, so _scary!”_ , was Fang’s ironic reply, raising her hands, and then she patted Lightning in the back so hard she almost threw her face-first to the sand. “Keep your pants on, lucky for you, your captain has everything under control. Come with me, I’ve reserved a special place for you guys.”

“You’ve saved us a place? Admit it, Fang, you knew we’d convince sis, did you?”, Serah smiled widely, and the dragoon merely smiled back. Lightning snorted in annoyance, while Hope looked at them from time to time to keep track of them as he watched everything around him with curiosity.

After a few minutes walking through the crowd –which was so entertained no one noticed their presence, what was what Lightning feared– Fang led them to a secluded bonfire, with far less people around it. Hope had seen that each fire had different symbols and decorations; this one was circled by astral symbols and small crimson banners with the same emblem he’d seen in Fang’s room.

“We have arrived”, Fang opened her arms with a smile. “A fire specially made for us! Don’t worry about the people here; they’re friends, and I’ve also told them they’d rather leave you alone. They don’t even know who you are.”

Lightning frowned, but commented nothing. It was obvious enough she still didn’t trust her words, and remained tense, as if she expected that at any moment someone approached her. On the contrary to Serah, who was smiling cheerfully and looked to be enjoying the festive atmosphere.

“This is great! Thanks, Fang! Hey, we can dance too even if we’re not part of any tribe, right? I’ve always liked your dances!”

“Well of course you can, this is _our_ fire”, Fang waved to the banners. “Dance all you want, girl! And don’t even mind making a fool of yourself!”

Serah didn’t hesitate to join the dance around the bonfire, followed by the dragoon. Snorting in irritation, Lightning walked away from the people and sat down on the sand several feet away, clutching her legs. After a second of doubt, Hope decided to follow her.

“Light”, the young angel murmured, sitting beside her. “Are you okay?”

She ruffed her nose.

“Tsk. As if you’d care.”

Hope tilted his head, but remained silent. He sensed the young woman’s discomfort, and from experience he knew it was better to ask when she was calmer, or else it was likely he’d be on the receiving end of a nasty bite.

For a while, they both watched how people danced around the fire to the drums and tribal flutes’ music. Fang moved with great agility and elegance, much like a panther, as she certainly was much more experienced in the dance than Serah, who was trying to imitate other people’s dance, sometimes more successfully than others, though every time she bumped into the sand she laughed happily and joined the celebration again. As minutes passed, Hope noticed Lightning’s body relaxed as she watched her sister having so much fun, and began drumming her fingers on her knee to the beat of the music. Perhaps because they’d been there for a long time without no one’s coming close to her, she seemed to begin calming down then.

“The Beacon Festival”, Hope said, deciding at last to break the silence. “I wonder what it’s about. Do you know it?”

“More or less”, Lightning replied, her answer not nearly as dry as the previous one. “Fang told me once, when we came here in other time. Fire is the sacred element for the Dead Dunes’ people, in part because of the Oasis Lighthouse’s protection.”

“The Oasis Lighthouse? What is that?”

In response, Lightning pointed to the sky west. Hope saw then, intensely shining, a massive scarlet spot floating in the middle of the night. It took him a moment to realize, in amazement, that it wasn’t actually floating, but was at a giant tower’s summit.

“It’s said that before the catastrophe that destroyed the world during the war”, the young woman went on, “the Dead Dunes were sunk beneath the ocean, and the Oasis Lighthouse’s purpose was to guide ships ashore at night. Nowadays, it points travelers the way to Ruffian. So the desert’s people worship its fire, the fire that guides them in the dark and protects them from evil. You’ve already seen that there are different symbols and banners in the bonfire: each belongs to one nomad tribe. They’re sacred fires, shamans of each tribe cast upon them a series of spells and rituals to bring them good fortune. Actually, I think they also use them whenever a couple formalizes their bond, since they symbolize happiness and harmony.”

“Then, this fire…”, Hope watched intrigued the crimson banners around the bonfire, “is the one for Fang’s tribe?”

“No, it isn’t. That symbol is the Vermillion Dawn’s emblem. You don’t know what it is?”, Lightning made a little half-smile at the angel’s confused frown. “Well, come to think of it, I’ve never told you about us in depth, right? The Vermillion Dawn is how our group is known, the l’Cie that face the Order. Fang was the one who named it, you know. Rather obvious, considering the love all Dead Dunes’ natives hold for fire.”

Hope studied with even more interest the banners’ emblem. He didn’t understand much of human symbology, but he thought he understood why Fang had chosen that name for her rebel group, specially after seeing the Oasis Lighthouse’s light casting its radiance over the desert night. _“The Vermillion Dawn”_ , the angel thought, watching the crescent moon from which the flaming bird soared towards the rising sun. _“From darkness to light, to the lighthouse’s fire in the sky.”_

“Look”, Lightning pointed to the emblem’s sun, which had a seven-pointed star inscribed inside the circle. “That was the Dynasty of the Rising Star’s old coat of arms, hence Fang chose us to be the Vermillion _Dawn_. It symbolizes our pursuit of King Mikhail, the last of the Rising Stars, to whom we refer in public as the Falling Star. And since the Order destroyed the memory of everything they could get their hands on about the Dynasty, not even themselves remember that coat of arms, so it’s an almost unrecognizable symbol.”

Hope looked away. Of course, King Mikhail again. He didn’t know why, but that name was starting to elicit a strange feeling in him, like… he couldn’t name it. Rejection, maybe.

“Did Fang want to bring the King back as well?”, the angel asked, partly to think of something else.

“Well, that wasn’t her main goal. She began fighting the Order when they took Vanille away from her”, Lightning smiled bitterly. “The Heart of Bhunivelze’s search only got into her plans when she met Serah and me. And the truth is, even though she loves teasing me, she owes me that no one bothers us while we stay in Ruffian, largely because it was her thing.”

“You mean it’s Fang’s fault that you feel uneasy when you come here?”, Hope’s eyes slightly narrowed. Lightning already knew that gesture meant the angel was upset.

“Blaming Fang would be a little too cruel. She did what she thought was right at the time”, the young woman sighed. “You see, at the moment, the Vermillion Dawn hardly had any support, unsurprisingly if you ask me. No one wanted to confront the Order, with all the power they had. And then we came Serah, a Seeress l’Cie, and me. We’d heard of Fang, of her ambitious plans, her fighting prowess and her fierce personality, and we assumed we’d have to earn the right of joining her ranks. So we took with us my sister’s Oracle Drive.”

“An Oracle Drive?”, Hope tilted his head blankly.

“It’s a device that stores the Seers’ visions.  By tradition, in ancient times, when a Seer l’Cie’s brand changed to prove the soul was already crystal, he or she was given an Oracle Drive in order to keep their prophecies in there. They’re not easy to find nowadays, but Serah had one… until we had to destroy it when the Order kidnapped her, just in case.”

“I see… So you took the Oracle Drive with you to convince Fang of letting you join the Vermillion Dawn?”, Hope seemed genuinely intrigued by the story.

“Yes. Remember I told you that my sister prophesied that I’d join King Mikhail and together we’d free Nova Chrysalia from the Order’s grasp? That’s what we offered Fang: the promise that we’d bring the King back and finish the Order off. And she… well, I’ve said the Vermillion Dawn had little, if anything, support at the time; everyone thought it was madness to defy the Order. So she used that prophecy to draw in followers here in Ruffian, showing the Oracle Drive’s vision to Elder Fares and the citizens, around twenty years ago.

The angel blinked in surprise. However, he was struck by the reluctance with which Lightning spoke about it.

“Did it work? Did she convince the people?”

“If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have to hide every time I come here”, she replied with evident sarcasm. “It’s true it benefited the group immensely because the word spread and l’Cie from other parts of Nova Chrysalia came to join us. But it’s also caused too great expectations rise around me. People expect me to save the world, Hope. They believe I’ll be the one who will bring back their rightful king and banish the Order, and trust me, it’s not because I don’t want it. But…”, Lightning sighed, “it’s not easy knowing you’re the hope of so many people, and so far I haven’t done anything worth of mention for them. I’m considered some kind of a messiah among l’Cie, the one who will save our race and stop the purge of our people. And because of this, I can’t fail them. I can’t forget my duty to them.”

Hope looked at her, and despite his usual marble-like expression, it was easy to see sadness in his face at her words. It was the reflection of the very sadness the angel sensed in Lightning’s aura. Perhaps it was just the fire’s effect, but it seemed the young woman’s eyes were brighter than usual.

“So now you know. This is why I’m called the Savior. This is the reason I fight”, Lightning said softly, almost in a whisper. “The reason I’ve fought most of my life.”

“And tell me… Do you fight for the prophecy?”, Hope shook his head and looked at the starry sky. “Or because of what the prophecy shows?”

“Is there any difference?”, she stared at him as if he were crazy.

“It is not the same… Fighting for your ideals, or just because you have been promised something in return. If you fight for what you believe, you know you’re doing the right thing and you won’t falter. Otherwise… I have learned many things living with you humans, and one of them is you are not obliged to fulfill your promises. What if after sacrificing so much for the prophecy, in the end it doesn’t grant you what it shows?”

There was a long silence. Lightning took a long time to reply, her eyes on Hope in harshness and disbelief, but the angel held her gaze until she looked away in a bad mood:

“Don’t come to me with such crap, Hope. Has Serah been telling you stories to keep you awake?”

“Serah?”, he furrowed his brow. “No, of course not. Why she would–?”

In that moment, Serah came to them. She was covered in sand from head to toe for her multiple falls, but a radiant smile lit her face even more than the firelight.

“What are you saying about me, you two, so far away from the action?”, the younger Farron put her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry. “Sis, even if you speak ill to Hope about me, he knows I’m a good person and if it weren’t for me you’d be rotting locked up in Fang’s room.”

“I have better things to do than speak ill of you”, Lightning replied arching her eyebrows, but she smiled. “You already learned the dance steps?”

“You could say that”, Serah shrugged. “Fang has been teaching me. Though she says people mostly dance as they please. But it’s so fun! Sis, you know how to do it, Fang’s told me. Why don’t you come over?”

Lightning paled and blushed equally, which sparked Hope’s curiosity. _“I thought that would be biologically impossible.”_

“Not even in your dreams, Serah. And tell Fang next time I’ll cut her tongue off.”

“Oh, c’mon! Stop playing the rough mask for once!”, her little sister grabbed her hand and with surprising strength for someone like her she got the young woman on her feet. “No one will bother you here! You need some fun, and at least you know how to do it!”

“I danced just once! I don’t even remember how it’s done!”, Lightning protested as Serah dragged unceremoniously towards the bonfire. “Please, Serah, I’m going to make a fool of myself!”

“Blah blah blah, whatever you say. C’mon, stop whining already! Hey Fang, help me refresh my sister’s memory!”

Hope shook his head in amusement, watching from the distance how Serah and Fang tried to make the embarrassed Lightning dance as they laughed. It was curious to see how that mighty warrior could look so… _shy_. He’d seen her face monsters twice her size and murderous armed soldiers without hesitating a single bit, but the prospect of dancing with people around was enough to turn her into a nervous wreck.

However, at the end Serah and Fang managed to convince her, and Lightning joined the dance reluctantly. The angel studied intrigued how the three women danced to the tribal drums marking the rhythm, tracing elegant figures as they crossed their arms and turned between each other, swiftly tapping their feet on the sand. It was beautiful, Hope thought. He’d watched Lightning move quite similarly when fighting, but this was a completely different thing. She wasn’t taking lives away nor trying to defend those she loved. Perhaps that’s why he could stop to appreciate her dance under another light, just by her grace and beauty… and because as time passed, Lightning began smiling, as Serah and Fang did. _“She feels happy when she dances”_ , Hope thought, not realizing that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her, just like the first time he saw her from the Ark. _“She feels happy when she doesn’t have to move like that to fight.”_

So focused he was, he was completely taken off-guard when Serah, taking Lightning with her by the hand, came to him:

“Hey, Hope, don’t you want to come with us? C’mon, take the plunge! Even sis has agreed to dance with us!”

“Just because you wouldn’t leave me alone until I did”, her sister replied, though she smiled.

The angel blinked, taken aback by the offer and because he’d been brought back to reality in a rather abrupt way as well.

“I wouldn’t be good at it. And I can’t dance”, he replied shaking his head. “Besides, I am afraid it might hurt my back.”

It was a strong reason, and Serah crossed her arms thoughtfully, looking at Hope with some pity. Obviously she felt sorry that because of his wounds he’d have to remain apart from the rest.

“Well, it’s not that bad. You don’t have to dance like us, if you slow down then you don’t have to get hurt”, then Serah pulled him to his feet and turned to Lightning. “C’mon, sis, teach him the basics!”

“What? Me?!”, her older sister opened her eyes wide.

“Of course you! Who else? You’ve been teaching him things ever since he descended, right? So this falls on you too”, Serah said, and gave her a pat on the shoulder as she went back to the fire. “And don’t even think of ditching poor Hope!”

She didn’t even let Lightning protest, as she rushed to join Fang and the dance again. The young woman, who was left standing there, snorted in disbelief.

“What in the world… She’s as involved as I am in this! And she’s got the nerve to place all the responsibility on me?”

Hope tilted his head, almost shyly.

“Light…”, he muttered hesitantly. “You don’t have to do it. I’m fine, I don’t mind staying here, really.”

“Yeah, I know, but my sister will kill me if I happen to ‘ditch you’”, she sighed as she facepalmed. “Come here. We’ll figure something out.”

They both came to the bonfire, that was spitting bright embers to the air as people danced around the Vermillion Dawn’s banners. Lightning led Hope to a more isolated part as she taught him the basics.

“It’s a bit different when more than two dance or one does it alone”, she explained him. “The moves suit to the circumstances. The first thing you have to do is learning the rhythm and how to move your feet. I’ll do it first and you follow me, okay?”

Hope nodded. At first it was hard for him to imitate Lightning’s swift steps, specially when she started teaching him moving while keeping the pace, and more than once he ended up on the ground as he slipped in the sand. But gradually he got the trick, and after a while he was able to coordinate his moves with hers. That was when Lightning considered he was ready to learn the basic formal steps.

“When I turn around, you have to turn to the opposite side. You must predict my moves a bit, and then you move according to how I’ve done so”, she told him as she taught the young angel how to link the hands of both in the many different turns. “It’s supposed to be fast, but we’ll have to adjust the pace because of your wounds. Come on, try it. If I move to the left, you move to the right…”

So, try after try, Hope adapted his tentative steps to the ones Lightning performed. At first it took him a little time, since he had to see what she did first and act accordingly. But with each attempt, the angel learned to identify Lightning’s body language prior to every step, at every turn, and before long, to the young woman’s surprise, he even anticipated her actions.

“You’re not bad at this”, Lightning remarked with a smile when they both executed an almost perfect sequence, except for a wrong step Hope had taken because he stumbled upon a stone. He slightly shrugged.

“It doesn’t have much merit. Remember I can deduce what you’re thinking by the energy you give off, and identifying what kind of energy you produce before each action isn’t that difficult.”

“Oh, so you’re playing with advantage, huh?”, she raised her eyebrows. “Since you’re so talented, what if we try something more interesting? Think you can keep up with me?”

Hope didn’t answer, but he accepted the challenge with a spark of amusement in his eyes. This time, Lightning quickened her steps, not as much as she could to spare the angel of getting hurt, but they were much faster and complex than before. It took him a bit at first, since he wasn’t used to that speed, but he quickly got her rhythm, anticipating each one of her moves, coordinating perfectly with the young woman’s dance.

If not as focused as they were both in each other’s steps, they’d have noticed the flawless rapport of their dance. It was much slower than the others’, indeed, but there wasn’t any coordination fail at all: Lightning and Hope spun around with their hands swiftly joining, their feet pounding the sand at the very same cadence. The firelight framed them both, moving in perfect harmony, as if they knew at all times what their partner would do next. Like a perfect reflection in motion, a mirror against the flames.

Completely oblivious to the other people dancing around the bonfire –and more than one had been left staring at them– Lightning and Hope continued dancing for a long time. She was smiling widely, brimming with positive energy, and that strengthened more than ever the angel’s life force. They seemed to shine by themselves, like the Oasis Lighthouse amidst the dark of night, despite the multiple firelights. If anyone could’ve guessed Hope was an angel, it would’ve been right then. He wouldn’t have even need having his wings back; you could almost feel the extraordinary power of his life force bursting from his body, like a lighthouse in himself.

Finally, exhausted, they stopped, breathing heavily after the prolonged effort. Lightning had to lean against Hope’s arm, and at that moment, when the angel looked down at her at the touch, their gazes met.

She wouldn’t know how to describe what she saw in Hope’s eyes. Perhaps it was just the reflection of the bonfire in them, but she’d sworn they gleamed with the intensity of the very fire. It was something she’d never seen in the angel’s green eyes, often shadowed by melancholy. It scared and attracted her at the same time, as if he was the heart of the sun himself. A gaze that couldn’t be human, yet full of humanity.

Until Hope’s descent, Lightning only knew about angels what old tales and legends told. Magical, supernatural, and rather dull-emotional beings with much more power than l’Cie could ever dream of. Following her coexistence with the angel, she’d thought she knew well enough how and what he was, specially after seeing how much he’d changed over nearly three months.

She’d never have expected to see something like that in his eyes. In that moment, Lightning was fully aware that Hope was an _angel_. A divine creature with a life force that flared with the intensity of a thousand fires.

“Are you okay?”, he asked her then, the second time in that night, breaking the silent connection between them so she let out a soft gasp. “Light?”

“Yes… Yeah, I’m fine”, she said blinking in an attempt to return to reality. “Don’t worry about me. How about you? Does your back hurt?”

“No”, and as if to prove it, the young angel stretched like a feline, that gleam still in his eyes. “Actually, I feel better than ever. I’m glad I danced with you, Light. It’s been so fun.”

She didn’t know what so say. She still couldn’t let go from her head Hope’s eyes, the angel’s eyes, after that dance in which, she now mildly realized, she felt… _complete_.

“Hey, sunshine!”, once again, Fang managed to get them both off of their train of thought; the dragoon patted Lightning’s back with a sly smile. “Seems you’ve found a dancing angel, huh? I think I haven’t seen you move in such sync in all the time I know you! You better apply the same while training, and if necessary I bring the angel with me for you to practice with him.”

Serah, by her side, said nothing as Fang teased her older sister, but she couldn’t stop smiling broadly, as if things had gone the way she’d expected. But what was Serah supposed to expect? Lightning was too dazzled to ask. And so it seemed, Hope, too, had his mind lost in his own thoughts.

All of a sudden, she had lost the will to keep dancing. And for the first time, too, she had lost her blind faith in the prophecy.

Both had become ashes to the wind, consumed by the fire in the angel’s eyes.


	24. Oracle

"I'm starting to question if this is a good idea", Lightning sighed, pulling out her electric sword of a goblot's body. "We should be on our way to Poltae, you know."

Fang tutted. She'd heard the same complain several times during that morning.

"Do I have to remind you again it's you who insisted in this tour yesterday?"

"I know that. But… maybe I didn't think it through as much as I should have. The Secutors are tracking us, and I'd prefer not drawing the attention we got in Yusnaan."

The dragoon briskly shook her head and waved her spear to the hand-shaped rock that stood over them:

"Well, you should've thought it a bit earlier, sunshine. Now we've got where you wanted, and you'd understand, after a journey through the desert under the sun instead of being as happy as your sister in my room, I've no intention of going back without doing what you pleaded me to do."

"I haven't plead you anything", Lightning protested.

"Ah no? 'Fang, please, please, take us to the ruins, I've got to show Hope my sister's prophecy and it's the only way he can see it!'", Fang mimicked in a little girl's voice, smiling sarcastically.

"That's not true!", Lightning turned to Hope, who was staring at them with his hands in his baggy pants' pockets, as if he were watching a game. "Hope, I didn't plead, right?"

"You did plead", the angel said, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"… Right, next time I'll spare you the question."

Fang laughed heartily at Lightning's faint blush, as she sheathed her sword reluctantly. She couldn't argue that it'd been her idea and she'd asked Fang to take her and Hope to the ruins under the Dead Dunes, but pleading was a completely different thing…  _"It wasn't even necessary to come here"_ , the young woman thought, frowning.  _"I couldn't forget the prophecy even if I tried. The only reason we came is because Hope felt curious…"_

* * *

The idea had come to her following the day next the Beacon Festival, during which there still was a lot of activity in Ruffian and therefore Fang couldn't find any time to take them to the monorail station. Lightning, Serah and Hope spent all day at Fang's home, sleeping until noon on the thick carpets and cushions on the floor, exhausted from the trip to the capital and the night-out.

"Ah, I see you've already emptied my pantry", Fang slyly said when in the afternoon she returned home and found Lightning and Serah trying to teach Hope how to play runic dice, a traditional game of the Dead Dunes, and various scraps of food on the red-granite table. "So this is how my warriors spend their time? Inciting the angel into vice and gambling? Shame on you."

"C'mon, Fang", Serah laughed. "It's not that bad!"

She waved her hand, grinning wider when Lightning tried to hide the dice and Hope lifted a cushion for her to tuck them under it when they thought the dragoon wasn't watching.

"Just joking, girl. You've got the right to have fun, haven't you? We've not been granted the gift of eternal youth for naught", Fang left her spear leaning against the doorframe and sat down with them. "Now in all seriousness, I'm sorry I've been this busy all day. I know I could've taken you to the station, but honoring our traditions entails certain duties."

"Don't worry. We were on a hurry yesterday, not now", Lightning replied; Serah made a little smile she tried to mask covering her mouth with her hand. "The Secutors can't find us here in Ruffian, right?"

"They could come here looking for you, but they've got no authority to register the city checking house by house", Fang shrugged. "The only way they could find you is if you get out, so you've done well staying here today."

For a long while, all four of them talked about their next goal and how to deal with the Wildlands' threats. Rather than merely listen as if he weren't too much interested in the talk, Hope was a lot more attentive than usual to him, asking questions from time to time in an attempt to, as Lightning guessed when she mused about the change, better understand what the three l'Cie were speaking of and learn more about their world. There was no other explanation for why the angel was suddenly asking them loose details about the Wildlands.

"Why, Hope, since when exactly you're this interested in our chats?", Serah smiled as they had dinner around the table; the talk had continued and Hope had just voiced his curiosity about the Oracle Drives of the Seer l'Cie. "You don't usually talk this much. Actually, it seems that you're not even here when others speak."

The angel slightly shrugged, not quite understanding why they were staring at him in wonder.

"I think it is an interesting topic. I don't know… Perhaps recent events have increased my curiosity."

Lightning couldn't help but look away. She knew Hope enough to know he meant his meeting with Pandaemonium and the new revelations about angels, but yet she couldn't help remembering the previous night… Not that anything had changed between them, because the angel acted like he always had around her. However, she couldn't take her mind off his gaze. It had been like staring into the heart of the very light, a glimpse of the true life force of a creature like him.

"Light told me you made a prophecy about her and King Mikhail", her thoughts were interrupted by Hope's voice, aimed to her sister "But you destroyed your Oracle Drive…"

"You told him that, sis? Well yes, we did", Serah looked sad. "It's already been five years since the Order kidnapped me, but I still miss my Oracle Drive. I had a lot of visions stored in it… Some of them, not so relevant, such as the one in which Snow was washing the dishes and he let slip a frying pan and it hit my sister in the face–"

"I've told you a hundred times you don't tell that to anyone", Lightning mumbled trying to hide her blush, to which Fang laughed.

"… But there were others loads more important", Serah continued, ignoring her older sister's protests. "And, of course, after destroying my Oracle Drive I had other visions that I couldn't store. To tell you the truth, it'd be great rewatching my prophecy about King Mikhail, because it was my first vision and it's been around two centuries since that, so it wouldn't surprise me that after all this time we've forgotten details about it."

Hope briefly raised his eyebrows when Serah mentioned those two centuries. Even though the angel was more or less aware of the Farron sisters' real age he probably found it weird, considering the youthful looks of both.  _"Not that he's the best to judge us"_ , Lightning thought, sarcastically.  _"He's the one who doesn't look that bad, for being about 3000 years old."_

"I wish I could see that prophecy", Hope then commented, gazing thoughtfully at his bowl of boiled fish with rice and tantal greens. "I have heard you talk a lot about it. And you always say, I'm quite involved in what it predicts…"

"The prophecy doesn't really talk about you", Lightning explained, "but obviously without an angel like you to guide us, we wouldn't be able to make it true. But I agree with you, it'd be nice to rewatch the record, just in case we've forgotten something…"

Then Fang looked up from her plate as if she'd been –properly said– struck by lightning, a grin painted in her face:

"Who said you can't watch it again? Sure, Lady Luck is on your side, since you're in the right place at the right moment."

"What are you talking about?", Lightning inquired, puzzled, to which Fang rolled her eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't tell me I've gotta refresh your memory about this, too! It seems years are indeed taking a toll on you, sister!", to Lightning's growl, the dragoon simply laughed. "You're in the Dead Dunes, and you know just below the sand there lay some ruins that were built back in the times when l'Cie had just been given birth. And what is what they hid in here during the war?"

It was Serah's time to let out a gasp of surprise:

"The Oracle Hive!"

Lightning opened her eyes wide as well when she heard her sister say it. Of course, how could she forget? It was true it wasn't easy to get to its resting place, but it wasn't as protected as other relics in the world. In fact, she actually consulted it once.  _"Fang's right… Maybe years are indeed taking a toll in me"_ , the young woman thought as she face-palmed, annoyed with herself.  _"How is it possible that I didn't think earlier of the Oracle Hive…"_

"What is the Oracle Hive?", Hope asked, as usual being the only one who didn't know what was it all about.

"We've already talked you about the Oracle Drives, right? They're devices used to store the prophecies of its Seer owner. Well, now imagine an Oracle Drive that records all prophecies made throughout all of history", Serah explained him with a smile. "That's the Oracle Hive, where all lost prophecies go. Whenever a Seer looks into the future, the vision is automatically recorded in it, because it was made a spell that linked it to all l'Cie able to gaze into the timeline."

Hope blinked in amazement. He knew enough of magic to realize the l'Cie who cast such a spell on the Oracle Hive must have been exceptionally powerful.

"It's true that constant link weakens the Seers", Fang intervened, "but with all my respects to Serah, it's a fair deal compared to what the Oracle Hive provides us: an everlasting record of all prophecies made ever since the first Seer was born. And since it was protected by a seal made of l'Cie magic, any of us could get into the ruins and consult it… if you know how to get to it, of course."

"Fang, you took me there last time!", Lightning sprang with pleading eyes. "Please, take us to the Oracle Hive! It's the perfect chance to rewatch King Mikhail's prophecy!"

The dragoon raised a brow, looking amused at her friend's pressing request.

"Wow, sunshine, weren't you the one who was such in a hurry to leave the Dead Dunes into the Wildlands?"

Lightning hesitated. Yes, it was true she wanted to get to Poltae as soon as possible, but… not every day she was so close to the Oracle Hive. Destroying Serah's Oracle Drive had left them without the recorded prophecy and she wanted to make sure, now that she'd finally gotten the angel she needed, that she was walking the right path.

She glanced at Hope, who was staring at her and Fang.  _"He has the right to see for himself what's his role in this story"_ , the young woman thought.  _"I got him into this… The least I can do is give him the chance to know why."_

"I know, Fang. But it might be interesting that Hope watched that prophecy. He's an angel, he may find something we can't, huh? Please, it's not that hard for you coming with us, you know the desert like the back of your hand."

He frowned, taken aback, but Lightning nudged him and gave him a quick wink, telling him not to say anything; she knew he was about to reply he wasn't sure he could do that, and that wasn't the best idea if she wanted to convince Fang.

Finally, the dragoon sighed, feigning resignation:

"Alright, alright. I can't refuse such a vehement plea. But I want you ready to leave before dawn! As you'll understand, it'd be irresponsible of me letting you end up roasted on the Dead Dunes' sand."

"Thanks, Fang… But, for the record, I haven't pleaded you anything."

"Oh you did, sunshine, and you know, I know, and everyone here knows it."

* * *

So there were Lightning, Hope and Fang, as Serah had stayed in Ruffian after her older sister insisted it was better for her to rest after so many efforts that could lead to her active brand reversing the anti-Cie'th process if things got rough and they had to resort to magic. Serah had protested, as expected, but this time not so much as she did back in Yusnaan since Fang was with Lightning and Hope. They spent the morning crossing the desert south to the Giant's Hand, a rocky formation which marked the ruins' entrance, fighting the monsters in their way. Hope's support magic proved essential, otherwise Lightning and Fang would've been too tired to face alone the beasts under the scorching sun; the angel had found out that the Barfire spell worked quite well protecting against all kinds of heat.

"Alright, angel, Lightning already knows this, but you don't", Fang told Hope as they ventured into the ruins, thankful to take cover after hours enduring such heat. "The ruins aren't a safe place at all. They're filled with traps, devised to protect the Oracle Hive, and after millennia many monsters have made their home here, so if you don't wanna end up as their lunch, stay close, huh?"

"I'll be careful", the angel replied, watching in distrust the gate blocking the way, which Fang opened drawing a magic symbol on it. "Are there Cosmic Chaos' infusions here, like in the Palace of Yusnaan's passageway?"

"No, this is an extremely old place and probably protected by ancient spells, so Cosmic Chaos can't break through", Lightning said, drawing her electric sword and looking around. "But don't let your guard down, Hope. Anything could jump on us at any time, even the dead."

The angel stared at her as if she were kidding him.

"The dead are the only ones we can trust. They never attack us. They can't."

"Yeah, well, they do around here", Fang slyly replied. "By the way, don't get too close to statues like the one on your right."

Startled, Hope jumped away from an armored skeleton statue with its arms crossed over its chest. Once he verified it wasn't moving, he seemed relieved, but he kept looking warily at both the statue and Fang, who laughed heartily at him.

"This one's not likely to move", Lightning said as she tapped her finger at the skeleton, "but others  _will_  attack us at the slightest touch. We have to be extremely careful, and remember… don't trust the statues."

Hope nodded.  _"This place is like the world upside down"_ , the angel thought as Lightning and Fang walked the sand-littered corridors. His whole body was tense, and not just because of the danger the two women had warned him about, but because he felt in the air a distortion in the very fabric of reality.  _"Perhaps it is due to the spells the Eternals cast in these ruins… but the dead walking goes against all laws of nature."_

For a long time, the trio pushed deep into the ruins' depths, lit by torches that, as Lightning and Fang told Hope, burned with magical fire that never faded. Everything was a result of the magic of l'Cie, who designed the place specifically to protect from unworthy hands the mystical Oracle Hive.

"I can breathe magic in the air", Hope said once they came into what looked a hall covered by sand; a device that looked like a carved huge cube shone in the center of the room, and the closed doors gave off a strange light. "I think the fact that the dead can walk in here could be related to the same magic. Maybe it's altered the order of things over time."

"It could be, but don't think too much about it", Lightning reached a hand to the device, which was lit, and the seals in the doors faded away. "These ruins are meant to protect the Oracle Hive and the prophecies it stores, so the more obstacles in the way, the better, don't you think?"

Hope made a displeased gesture:

"At expense of the dead? That is not right. Those who delve into darkness should not return to the world of light. Not unless they have been purified."

"That was Goddess Etro's role", Fang intervened waving at them to follow her through one of the doors, "but ever since she was defeated, things haven't gone well for the cycle of souls. The question is, how didn't everything went straight to hell, because considering Etro's state the balance should've collapsed."

"I guess that since gods can't be completely destroyed, the remainder of Etro's power keeps the cycle at work. But, of course, it isn't the same, and that could be the reason of souls of those who haven't been able to reincarnate inhabiting their skeletons, or those of others, here", Lightning commented thoughtfully, pushing with her sword's tip a skull half-buried in the sand.

Just in that moment, the sand stirred, and the skull Lightning had pushed suddenly rose, revealing a whole skeleton wielding two huge swords. She immediately jumped back, avoiding the slash the skeleton had aimed to her.

"Damn! You can't even trust what's lyin' on the ground these days!", Fang growled, raising her spear. "Hey! Come and get me, you skinny bag of bones!"

The skeleton turned to the dragoon, clearly annoyed, and answered to her provocation rushing to her, swords ahead. Fang blocked the blow with her spear; a bluish aura surrounded her, as if her body was shielded, glowing faintly. One of the spell branches Fang had specialized in was the sentinel branch, and Lightning recognized that technique as Mediguard, a defensive stance that would heal her in time. As her friend distracted the enemy, she had the chance to attack it by surprise.

She lunged at the skeleton with a war cry, striking her electric sword upon its hardened, dry bones. The skeleton staggered, but things didn't go as well as Lightning thought: it turned to her with its empty sockets, and opened its mouth in an evident angry manner, raising its swords. She remembered those skeletons had a special affinity with the Earth element, so attacking with a sword like hers severely undermined its effectiveness.  _"I forgot"_ , she cursed to herself,  _"after all the time I've not been around here."_

"Light!", she suddenly heard Hope behind her, and a whitish glow enveloped her sword, tiny whirlwinds circling the blade. It was Enaero, a synergy spell that imbued weapons with the summoned element in order to deal elemental damage with their blows. And the Wind element inflicted more damage to Earth-aligned creatures… like that skeleton.

With a fierce smirk, Fang struck the skeleton in the back with her spear to divert its attention from Lightning; it turned around in rage and tried to strike the dragoon down with furious slashes of its swords, which she swiftly blocked. Lightning didn't waste any time and attacked the skeleton with her newly Wind-enhanced sword. The howling sound of wind echoed through the hallway with each blow, hitting hard the skeleton, caught by surprise. A few seconds later, a bunch of broken bones fell to the sand.

"Thanks, Hope", Lightning told the angel, who simply tilted his head in his usual 'you're welcome' gesture.

"Nicely done", Fang said, kicking the bones away and waving at them to follow her. "They're not particularly tough, but damn they're annoying. And since our dear Savior loves  _Lumen_  too much, she always has to deal more than necessary with them whenever she comes here if she forgets she can use magic to her pleasure as the good l'Cie she is."

Lightning frowned in embarrassment, to which Hope looked at her blankly:

" _Lumen?_  What is  _Lumen?"_

"Ah, you haven't told your angel, sunshine?  _Lumen_  is how she calls her sword", Fang explained to Hope, and he studied with renewed curiosity Lightning's electric blade. "As you can see, it's not a weapon anyone finds daily, so she gave it a name. Very touchy, if you ask me. But don't sweat it, even if that sword means the world to her, it's no competitor to you."

"Fang", Lightning growled as a warning. The dragoon laughed, and Hope followed them down the corridor, not quite seeing the fun in that joke. Judging by what he sensed from Lightning, it wasn't the first time someone made a similar comment, but he didn't understand why that annoyed the young woman that much.  _"Who would want to compete against me and for what? Light isn't a trophy… Perhaps she gets upset because when people say things like that, it makes her feel like one."_

They kept advancing for a while. Along the way, more skeletons came to them, but thanks to the Enaero spell Hope cast on  _Lumen_ , Lightning easily defeated them with Fang's help. The dragoon seemed puzzled at why the angel didn't fight by himself and merely supported them; when Hope explained his reasons, Fang snorted in evident exasperation, stating that it was an absolute waste knowing how powerful his race's magic was, and that he'd be able to get rid of the skeletons simply spitting on them if he wanted. He wasn't that sure: yes, indeed he felt much stronger than before, specially after the Beacon Festival, but his back wounds still hurt, and he was well aware he was still recovering from them.

After that long way between corridors and other monsters –skeletons in particular– they got to another hall, larger than the previous one and featuring beautifully carved walls and much less sand in the tiled floor. However, when they were about to cross a door, it abruptly closed in Fang's face, who jumped back as she swore loudly.

"What's wrong?", Hope asked, worried. "Did we set up any of the traps?"

"No, rest assured that with me as your guide you won't tread on any", Fang shot a murderous glare at the door. "This is no trap. It's just one of the  _fantastic_  mechanisms our l'Cie ancestors put in the ruins to protect the Oracle Hive and drive outsiders crazy."

"Look", Lightning pointed the angel to above the threshold; Hope saw a red circle divided into twelve sections, and two arms pointing to different ones like a clock's. "They're time doors, and that means they open and close depending on the time of day."

"And Lady Luck decided to close this one in our noses after getting here a few seconds late", Fang grunted, and then sighed. "Well, fortunately for you, you're with me, so all we gotta do is taking a detour to the door that's open now. If you were strangers and didn't know the ruins, the most likely outcome is you wouldn't get out of here ever again."

The dragoon waved them once more to follow her, walking in long strides; she certainly didn't want to miss a single second, which was understandable if those doors opened or closed depending on the hour.  _"If the other door closes for getting late to it, I can't even imagine how pissed off Fang would be"_ , Lightning thought, and she smiled.  _"Though she might be able to break it down if she's enraged enough."_

However, Hope stayed behind. Lightning took a moment to notice he wasn't following them, and when she turned around she found him studying the door with great interest. She'd been exasperated at other times, but at this stage she already knew the angel, and she was aware it wasn't wise to ignore anything that managed to get his attention.

"What are you doing, Hope?", she asked, coming to him. "Keep in mind, if we don't hurry the other door will close, and you don't want Fang to scold you."

"I was reading", Hope replied stepping back from the door. "Sorry, I didn't want to delay you. It's just… it seemed an interesting read."

Lightning raised her eyebrows.  _"Reading what?"_ , she blankly thought. The door was carved with many forms and lines, but none that belonged to the four alphabets she'd studied, that was for sure.

"Those are just carvings. I admit many art critics would try finding out what they mean, but–"

"Oh, right… I keep forgetting you humans can't read them", Hope interrupted her, and ran his long fingers over the intricate engravings of the door, tracing them so Lightning could appreciate them. "These are characters of the angelic language, you see? They're disguised pretty well, but when I looked at the door closer, I realized there are some texts carved in here."

Now Lightning was paying him all the attention. And it was no wonder: once again, Hope had managed to leave her speechless.  _"Angelic texts in the ruins?"_ , she was shocked, avidly studying the door.  _"How's that even possible? We thought this place was loads older than angels themselves, if it was built by the first l'Cie…"_

"Hey, you two!", Fang's voice boomed through the hall; the dragoon had come back after realizing they weren't following her. "What the hell are you doing, staring at that door like idiots? You won't intend to wait here for it to open, right?"

"Hope found something interesting! According to him, there are angelic writings hidden in the carvings", without stopping to explain Fang further, Lightning turned to Hope. "What does it say here? Can you read it?"

The angel squinted trying to decipher it; even though obviously he had no problem at reading the angelic language, if the characters were hidden between the carvings it could be confusing to understand. Fang crossed her arms, growing impatient, but Lightning knew well she wasn't going to miss the chance of Hope translating information only he could understand.

" _'Behold the glory of the Makers, masters of everything that exists in this world. The honorable Eternals, our predecessors, built these hallowed halls in honor of the four gods who rule heavens, lands and oceans. Pulse the Stout, Lindzei the Sage, Etro the Fool, and Bhunivelze the Radiant God are their names, and we record here their story so it shall not be forgotten as they eventually will. Their memory after the catastrophe faded among the freed races, but gods cannot be entirely forgotten, as we cannot forget…'_ ", Hope tilted his head, taking a step back from the door. "That is what it says… So the first Eternals dedicated this temple to God and his offspring?"

Lightning, amazed, looked at Fang, who shook her head:

"I had no idea. If so, it must be something that has been forgotten, because I don't remember ever hearing our l'Cie ancestors devoted these ruins to the gods. In fact, I'd never have imagined they'd honor those who once oppressed us."

"I didn't imagine it, either… but this place was built shortly after fal'Cie Pandaemonium created the first l'Cie", Lightning replied. "Probably at the time it was seen as some kind of divine blessing… Seen that way, I can understand why they did worship the gods at first, even if they'd later take advantage and enslaved them."

"Yeah, well", Fang made a begrudging abrupt wave of her hand, "it doesn't make much sense dwelling on what a few fanatic guys did thousands of years ago. I care about the present age, and in this one there's only one god left, and hopefully one day he'll be forgotten as well as he once was."

Meanwhile, Hope kept staring at the door, almost sadly.

"If this is angelic language, this must had be carved by the other angels…", he muttered. "Unlike me, they knew the history of the world I was supposed to watch over. I wonder…"

Before Lightning could ask him anything, Fang spoke first:

"Well, enough wasting time. If you spot any other interesting text, angel, let us know, but the important thing now is reaching the door as I said before. Once we get through, we'll be quite close to where the Oracle Hive is hidden away. C'mon, put those bony white asses to work!"

Fortunately, despite Fang's hurry –or perhaps for that very reason– and after finishing off another couple of skeletons, they managed to get to the door when there were only two segments left to close. Hope didn't exactly know how much they'd descended, but he was sure they had spent at least three hours wandering the ruins. They had to be fairly deep, and the more they got inside, the most he felt magic in the air.  _"The trail of l'Cie spells around here is stronger… If they really protected that artifact that already must have a lot of magic inside, it's not surprising only Eternals and angels can move through here. A mere mortal wouldn't be able to breathe such amount of magic without consequences."_

As they descended, Hope realized all gates in the ruins were carved with those angelic texts; they couldn't stop to read them all, but whenever the angel had a bit of time he tried to decipher snippets of Nova Chrysalia's history ever since the creation of l'Cie. Of course, they passed through only a number of doors, so the data was fragmented, but every time he read something Hope told Lightning and Fang, even though they knew most of the info. However, for the angel was fascinating to read, even if it was in a not-very-cohesive way, the history of his world written there by the lost members of his kind. Somehow, it was as if the writings reminded him that he wasn't completely alone.

"We're here at last!", Fang proclaimed after crossing a long corridor when they got into a great hall, richly decorated with many engraved images on the walls and carefully polished tiles despite their age; a huge silver and golden door stood at the back of the room, covered with shining scarlet symbols. "This is the antechamber to the room where the Oracle Hive lies. Lightning has been here once before, so she knows the rules, but I'll repeat them for you: don't ever touch that door until we've unsealed it. I've personally seen what happens to those who don't follow this basic rule."

"Really?", Hope curiously watched the gate, undoubtedly trying to read its carvings through the magic glyphs, keeping a safe distance from it.

"Indeed. Probably you're stepping on whatever it remains of them", Fang cackled when the angel stepped back looking down, startled. "The Fire spell cast upon this gate consumes anyone who touches it without having broken the seal, turning them into dust and soot. Believe it, I've seen it with my own eyes."

"What about unsealing it instead of scaring him, huh?", Lightning put her hands to her hips, to which Fang grinned mockingly, and reached a hand towards the closed gates.

"Sorry, sister, it's too easy to tease your angel", the dragoon traced a few symbols in the air with her finger, glowing with the same reddish hue of the glyphs, and after a brief blaze, they faded away. "Alright, Savior, your wishes have been fulfilled. Let's go, the Oracle Hive is right ahead."

"Wait a minute", Lightning asked her, and turned to Hope, who had gotten closer again to the door and was trying to read it. "Found something interesting, Hope? It's the most important gate in the ruins, there  _has_ to be."

Hope tilted his head, studying closely the intricate carvings. It took him a couple of minutes to reply, just as Fang was getting impatient again:

"' _Fal'Cie Fenrir from House of Pulse and fal'Cie Phoenix from House of Lindzei merged into a single being, and with all the power of their kind they struck down their former masters. Overcome by the power of the Eclipse, Pulse and Lindzei were sealed in another dimension, while the fal'Cie on their side were turned to ashes, just like the moon that once was Cocoon. The space-time was torn apart, many holes in the fabric of reality opened. Intradimensions is how we call these holes in space-time, dimensions opened within the fabric of another one, all linked together by the Historia Crux, the passage of the timeline that connects the respective lairs of the gods'_ ", the angel read with his calm voice. "' _When the dust of battle settled, our masters were crystal, and fal'Cie Fenrir and fal'Cie Phoenix were no more. Humans, Eternals and fal'Cie were free, they had saved Nova Chrysalia at long last. Thus the Eternal queen, Eleanora, was crowned as the Rising Star, and in her honor, aided by fal'Cie Pandaemonium from House of Pulse and last of its kin, we built a new moon to commemorate her ascension, and we launched it to the heavens the day of her crowning. But the New Cocoon hides a secret: inside it there is one of the intradimensions that were made during the Eclipse, a link to the Historia Crux. Whoever has come here has earned the knowledge that it is possible to ascend to the heavens, as long as truth has touched the heart._ "

There was silence. Fang was no longer looking bored towards the middle of Hope's read, and Lightning was again left speechless. But, for once, shock was shown more clearly than ever in Hope's marble face; the angel had opened his eyes wide, his lips parted in surprise.

"An intradimension inside the New Cocoon?", Fang said, genuinely amazed. "Is that what angels truly offered the Rising Stars? A link to the very Historia Crux?"

"If that were so, the Rising Stars should've had a twin portal… Maybe truth never touched their hearts, as the writings say", Lightning pondered, and she sighed. "I wish Serah was here, she's the best of us in history stuff. But if that's true, there has to be somewhere in the world a portal to the Historia Crux leading to that intradimension inside the New Cocoon–"

"The Ark", Hope murmured then, stunned; both women turned to him. "That is the intradimension inside the moon. If the writings don't lie, and they can't if they have been written by my kind, the Historia Crux connects the lairs where gods dwell, and in the Ark there is a gate to Cosmogenesis, the dimension where God resides."

Lightning let out a gasp of surprise:

"So… then the Ark can't be Bhunivelze's work! If the angels knew of its existence and built the New Cocoon as a chrysalis of sorts, they must be the ones responsible!"

"You mean Bhunivelze took over a gift from angels to humanity?", Fang growled contemptuously. "Guess what, I can easily picture that. But even if that's so, what's the difference? It's pretty damn obvious the Rising Stars never found the twin portal, because even if the Order has destroyed everything they could get their hands on about the dynasty, it'd have been remembered among us l'Cie. And nobody knew there was any intradimension up there, that I can tell you. Not that what we're looking for is up there, otherwise the angel would know."

"It's true it doesn't truly concern us, but…", Lightning looked at Hope, who was still staring at the gates, almost without seeing them. "Hope… have you considered that, if the Ark was a place created by the angels, then maybe–?"

"… Maybe I'm one of the angels from past times, who ended up locked away there for some reason?", he finished the question, not even turning. "Yes, Light, I have considered so. I can't tell if that's the correct answer or not. But my memories date from around 3000 years, and fal'Cie Pandaemonium itself said my aura was different from other angels. I do know I am bound to God, but… beyond the obvious, that is, I'm an angel and he was my creator, I have got nothing. Besides, I haven't ascended to the moon like the writings say, I have rather done otherwise. Perhaps I wasn't worthy of staying in my ancestors' shrine…"

"You're right…", the young woman conceded, somewhat disappointed. She had to admit she'd been too hasty at drawing conclusions, perhaps eager to untie Hope from his link with Bhunivelze. "But you don't have to be so hard on yourself. Listen, if it's true there's a twin portal somewhere in Nova Chrysalia that leads to the Ark, then you could go back there once we've completed our mission, if we find it. And if you want so, I could give Bhunivelze a nice beating so he'll leave you alone", she told him with a kind half-smile.

Hope didn't answer. He simply looked down, not knowing what to say. He knew Lightning's offer was honest, he could sense it in her aura. But in that moment he realized that a long time had went by since the last time he thought about the real possibility of coming back to the Ark, as he'd assumed he would remain in the mortal realm. Yes, it was true Bhunivelze implied his wings could grow back again, but it had been three months and he hadn't got any more news from his master, so he'd unconsciously ruled out ever returning to the Ark. However, the thought had terrified him back when he descended, but now…  _"If that portal existed, could I really go back to the Ark?"_ , the angel couldn't help but wonder.  _"Or… would I want to go back there? If God called me back to his side… could I refuse his call? I… I don't know."_

"I think we've theorized enough for today", Fang, as usual, interrupted his train of thought. "C'mon, we've come all the way for what's in the next chamber. Would you do the honors, oh mighty Savior?"

Lightning snorted in annoyance, but she stepped forward and put her hand on the closed doors. The carvings suddenly lit up, and with a loud screech the huge stone gates opened, revealing a great chamber of blue stone, in which a corridor over a pit stood, flanked by torches of magic blue fire quite similar to those Lightning, Serah and Hope had seen in fal'Cie Pandaemonium's lair in the Palace of Yusnaan.

The fire of the torches kindled as the trio crossed the hall, illuminating their faces in the shadow. In the back of the room was a golden altar on which an artifact of the same color was lying, giving off an intense glow. It looked like a rounded multifaceted prism, a circular carving in each of its faces akin to a gear. Hope watched it with great respect when he sensed the incredible magical energy the device emitted.

"Is this the Oracle Hive?", the angel asked in a low, cautious voice.

"That's right", Lightning said, who also watched the artifact in fascination, nothing like Fang who feigned a yawn. "We'll finally be able to rewatch the prophecy after so long… Hope, pay it all the attention you can, in case you notice something in it."

The angel shortly nodded.

"How does it work?"

"Look", the young woman reached a hand to the Oracle Hive; her fingers lit up, and a second later a bright light enveloped the device. "You channel your magic to it, and focus on the prophecy you wanna see. Check it out…"

A vertical thread of light came out the Oracle Hive, and began shaping an oval floating in midair, like a rippling screen. Like in the surface of water, images started to form from the ripples, of a duller color than in real life, as if they were watching them through a crystal. Moments later, they recognized a landscape that looked like a lush forest, through the treetops filtering the sunset light. Hope was sure he hadn't seen yet any place like that one in his time in Nova Chrysalia, so exuberant with nature.

Suddenly a female voice came from the Oracle Hive, like an echoing whisper, almost ethereal. Hope knew that voice to spare, not in vain he'd been listening to it for three months every day now.

" _The fallen star searches the light his world has to brighten_ ", Serah's voice spoke, as the device projected images of more and more trees swaying in the breeze under the sunset-colored sky.  _"In northern winds the lost king shall return."_

Then the image changed. In front of a large tree, Hope noticed two figures standing, holding hands and facing each other. Beside him, Fang crossed her arms, and Lightning let out a small breath. The angel felt her aura tinged with yearning, but he thought it didn't feel as deep as the last time.

It didn't take long for him to understand why she reacted that way. One of the figures was a young woman of rose-colored hair that he already knew pretty well. The Lightning of the vision looked happier than he'd ever seen her.  _"She has what she most desires"_ , Hope realized when he saw her smile.  _"The prophecy truly shows a future she craves. No wonder she wants to make it true."_

However, he drifted his attention for the first time to the other figure. He couldn't appreciate it much: the person holding Lightning's hands was a blurred shape, as if someone had erased his body and features. Hope could only tell he seemed tall, elegant and slender, but it was definitely the body-build of a male.  _"King Mikhail"_ , he thought, feeling once again that strange rejection.

 _"For the eternal maiden with hair of dawn he has come back"_ , Serah's voice whispered.  _"Together in heart and soul salvation they shall bring to us all."_

And with these words the vision vanished, and the Oracle Hive's glow decreased to its former soft light.

There was a silence once again among the trio. Fang didn't look fazed, but Lightning was staring expectantly at Hope, waiting for his opinion. He wasn't sure about what to say: watching the prophecy himself was the ultimate proof that indeed Lightning and that king of times past were fated to meet. Even though Mikhail's figure was erased from the oracle, Serah's words were quite clear.  _"And that is further evidence that I'm nothing but a tool of destiny to make it happen"_ , the angel thought, inadvertently closing his fists slightly.

"So?", Fang said, raising a brow. "What do you think, angel? You saw anything in the prophecy that we missed?"

"I can't tell", Hope muttered, and regretted replying that way once he sensed Lightning's disappointment, but he couldn't lie. "It is obvious, from the prophecy and what you've told me, King Mikhail is meant to return and free his people along Light… But I am afraid there's no angelic hidden code in the oracle, if that was what you expected me to find."

Fang huffed, and Lightning looked away, biting her lower lip. The young angel wished he could tell them more, be useful to them… but for now, that was all he could give. He was aware he was the key that could lead them to the Heart of Bhunivelze, the only thing that, according to Lightning, would bring Mikhail back from wherever he was, even from beyond death. And that was why she kept him by her side. Lightning had placed her trust on him, and he loathed disappointing her. Even if deep down he thought that, just as the skeletons dwelling in the ruins, that king from the past should rest in peace, instead of walking a time and place that didn't belong to him anymore.  _"The dead who walk harbor nothing but hatred and insanity towards the living. This place is the best proof of it."_

"Well, at least you've been able to see for yourself the prophecy", Lightning said, finally composing herself. "There still are things for which we might need of your angelic knowledge, Hope, so there's no reason to feel down."

"Ah, you mean the Warren", Fang scratched her chin, a shark-like smirk in her face. "Yeah, sunshine, maybe this trip wasn't completely in vain. Actually, we shouldn't wait too long for that."

"The Warren?", Hope looked at both women blankly.

"It's the part of Luxerion where the Order locks up those who don't follow their law. A prison in all but name", Lightning explained, and her voice took that furious edge that always took over it whenever she talked about the Order's tyranny. "That's where, thousands of years ago, stood the Rising Star's citadel; when the Order seized power, it was looted and destroyed, but its foundations and vaults are still intact."

"And that's where l'Cie hid everything they could about the Dynasty of the Rising Star, so their story would survive the Order's purge", Fang continued. "There's a sealed chamber under what once was our rulers' home. A powerful spell was cast on it, so it only opens once every thirteen years. There are fragments of the dynasty's history and its members saved in there, starting from Queen Eleanora herself."

Hope blinked in surprise.

"King Mikhail as well?"

"He's the only one missing", Lightning shook her head and looked up at the angel. "But within the vault there's another chamber that was sealed by angelic magic, and it's told there's where Mikhail's story is guarded. And you know, since you're the first angel who has walked Nova Chrysalia in 3131 years, no one has ever went through that barrier. The vault will open in three months, and… well, if we haven't found any clue by that time, would you want to go there with me? You're the only one who can break that seal, Hope."

He slightly frowned.  _"I'm starting to feel chained to that king"_ , he thought, somewhat bitterly. It seemed as if, whatever the situation, King Mikhail was always there, and he wasn't but the means to bring him to Lightning. And he didn't like that.

But he couldn't turn her down. Lightning's gaze was almost pleading, and Hope forced himself to remember her smile in the prophecy, how happy she would be once she met the man that fate had promised her.

"Of course, Light. I will follow you wherever you go."

She smiled. Her sincere gratitude kindled Hope's life force, and the young angel had to admit his misgiving was nothing compared to her smile.  _"I wish it never left her face."_

But, as expected coming from her, Fang rolled her eyes and made a few claps:

"Well, I think we've wasted too much time in here, you two. And if I have to be completely honest, I'm starving. What if instead of investing hours in chats that we could share in my room, we head back to Ruffian?

"Right", Lightning granted, rising up and adopting her warrior-like demeanor again. "Besides, Serah will be  _thrilled_  to hear everything we've learned in here. C'mon, Fang, please guide us again."

The dragoon laughed, waving at them to follow her once more:

"I should start charging for sightseeing. You're lucky for being the Savior lady, so thank me I'm doing this for free."

* * *

Few hours later, they finally got out of the ruins, after going the way back –during which they had to take several detour because of the time doors and fought some more skeletons– to the Giant's Hand. The sun was setting, tingeing with shades of pink and crimson the horizon, causing amber reflections in the ocean.

"That's more like it!", as she smirked, Fang stretched like a panther. "Guys, I know these ruins as if I was born in here, but there's nothing like the desert itself. You're gonna have to make up to me for this so unpleasant time below the very earth."

"Stop being such a drama-queen", Lightning replied, feigning exasperation. "You love sticking your nose into everything you're able to, Fang. If Hope and I had come alone, you'd have tracked us the same way."

She shrugged nonchalantly.

"That's how I survive, sister. You really think the Vermillion Dawn's chief could've lived for so long without sticking her nose into everything that isn't her business? You never know who will stab you in the back."

"Fortunately, the Dead Dunes aren't as dangerous at night… And there's the Oasis Lighthouse too, so if you get a little bit too annoying we can leave you on your own."

"Oooh, listen to you, it has gone straight to your head, huh?", the dragoon raised her eyebrows. "Even if Fares treats you like a hero, sunshine, you still need me to go back to Luxerion, Oasis Lighthouse or not."

"Touché", Lightning admitted, smiling, trying to keep up with Fang's strides. "Anyway, it was you who wanted to go back to Ruffian as soon as possible, right? Let's go, Hope–"

That was when she realized Hope wasn't following them. He had gone still, staring at the sky with a deep frown. Lightning recognized the signs: even at a distance, she noticed how the angel's slender body had tensed up in alert.

"Hope?", worried, she came to him. "What's wrong? What are you sensing?"

He took long seconds to answer. In the meantime, Fang, who wasted no time in asking questions, wielded her spear, ready to strike against anything that showed up.

"The magic from Yusnaan", Hope murmured then. "It is the same energy I felt in the palace's jails. It's here, just above us."

Lightning and Fang only had a few seconds to realize, in horror, what the angel's word implied. All of a sudden, metallic clicks echoed from the cliff's summit, and four harpoons darted around the trio, surrounding them. As they sank into the sand, there was a burst of red light as a glyphic circle spread at their feet. Immediately after, Lightning, Hope and Fang felt how their magic, their very inner power, was brutally confined into the depths of their being, leaving them unable to reach to it and draining out their strength in merely seconds.  _"No…!"_ , was all Lightning could think before falling on her knees. At her side, Fang tried in vain to resist before collapsing like a heap, unconscious; Hope, gasping for breath, reached for Lightning, in a futile attempt to help her, or maybe ask her for it, but he eventually lost consciousness as well, his hand falling limp on the sand.

Before everything around her turned into suffocating darkness, Lightning glimpsed a bayonet stabbing the sand by her side, and a reddish spark of a helmet under the twilight sun.


	25. Wrath

The first thing Hope heard after a darkness that lasted what it seemed an eternity was the voices. Right after he felt that strange choking, as if air didn’t reach his lungs; he coughed, trying to breathe. Until he realized that he was actually breathing without problems, so the oppression must had a different cause.

Bit by bit, the angel opened his eyes. It was night now, and in the distance was shining the eternal flame of the Oasis Lighthouse, softly lighting the sand. It was, however, in a different place than the last time he’d seen it, so he wasn’t where he was before he lost all consciousness. _“Where… where am I?”_

He tried to move, and suddenly something caused a strong electric shock as a stream of reddish energy ran through his body. Hope let out a short cry of pain, feeling that kind of suffocation grow, forcing him to cough again.

“Hope…?”, then he heard Lightning’s exhausted voice by his side; the angel turned his head and saw her and Fang close to him, against the rocks. “You’re awake…”

“Light…”, he murmured; his voice was hoarse and drained too, as if it was very hard to pronounce each word. “Fang… What happened…? Where… where are we?”

Lightning was about to answer, but Fang beat her with the same exhausted voice, but not losing her nerve at all:

“Where are we, somewhere east of the Oasis Lighthouse, around the Grave of the Colossi. About what happened, if we’re chained as we are, it’s because we’ve been caught, don’t you think? If I were you, I wouldn’t move, if you don’t want to have an even worse time than right now.”

It was then when Hope noticed the shackles around his wrists, neck and ankles, secured by chains to the rock. The metal gave off an eerie red glow that looked familiar. Lightning and Fang were chained the same way too, even though they seemed to be dealing with it somewhat better than him.

“The Order has been… using this tactic against us for many centuries…”, Lightning explained with obvious anger, despite how hard it was for her to talk. “A spell specifically designed… to block crystal-origin magic… such as l’Cie have. Just as you warned us, it’s the spell that still haunts the jails… in the Palace of Yusnaan.”

Then Hope recalled that just before losing consciousness, he’d sensed that same energy. A little further, he saw a tent in front of which was a banner stuck in the sand with the Order of Salvation’s symbol. _“The Order… caught us? How did they know where they had to look for us?”_

“I’ve heard them chat before”, Fang grunted staring at the tent where probably the Order’s soldiers were taking shelter, her words dripping with such venom Hope shuddered. “Apparently they’ve lost all kinds of respect for the nomad tribes’ neutrality. They captured a few hunters from the tribe of Mysidia and beat them until they confessed where you’d gone before killing them for anyone to find it out. As they were on their way to Ruffian, they came across us…”, the dragoon clenched her fists, enraged. “The damn, conceited bastards…”

Meanwhile, Lightning looked more fragile and frightened than ever, despite her efforts to keep her composure. Hope didn’t like seeing her like that, and wished he could move to offer her his support, even if it wasn’t much.

“I only hope that if the Order attacks Ruffian… Serah will be able to escape. I was right to tell her to stay… If she’d come with us…”

“Those filthy cowards of the Order would never dare to attack Ruffian”, Fang snapped as if the thought was preposterous. “Besides, why would they? They’ve got us already… Hurting your sister wouldn’t benefit them, and you know it… but we’re a different story.”

Even though Hope wasn’t that used to Fang’s aura, he did sense some kind of dark resolution, an almost resigned determination. Like someone who has accepted a grim fate and is ready to fight until the fateful outcome.

“Fang…”, Lightning muttered, shaking her lowered head. “I’m sorry… this is my fault. If we hadn’t left Ruffian for my stupid idea–”

“Now there’s little point in lamenting”, Fang sharply replied. “I’m most interested in pissing the Order off enough for them to grant us a quick death. It’s loads more than they usually offer l’Cie… and a miracle for traitors and spies like me, that I can tell you.”

Lightning fell silent. She merely looked down, pale and her face serious and stoic in the outside, but Hope sensed her anger, her frustration, her sense of failure… and fear. _“She is scared”_ , the angel understood. _“She fears that everything she has fought for will be for naught.”_

If they were prisoners of the Order and couldn’t release themselves with magic, what would become of them? Fang assumed they’d be killed, but Hope couldn’t help wondering if that was really it. If that was what they wanted, they’d have ended their lives once they left them defenseless. Why else they would’ve chained them up?

Maybe Lightning realized the young angel’s concerns, because she turned to face him as he lamented having been weak enough to predict the ambush within a wider time range.

“Hope…”, she said quietly, perhaps in an attempt to reassure him. “I’m sorry you had to go through this. I know it’s quite ironic I’m saying this, but… I had no intention to drag you to your death.”

“We are still alive…”, Hope replied shaking his head. “Why are you apologizing? Besides, it was me who said I wanted to see the prophecy… Maybe if you had killed me earlier, I wouldn’t have caused you all these problems…”

She was about to reply, but then Fang cut them:

“Enough of the last wills… Here they come. In the name of all that’s holy for you two, don’t tell them a single thing. Maybe our time has come today, but our people _will_ survive.”

Lightning nodded with sheer determination. Hope understood what Fang meant, and why the Secutors hadn’t killed them yet: they wanted to interrogate them, learn about their hiding places and activities. He remembered what both women had told him, that only the Vermilion Dawn’s members actively fought against the Order, while the innocent l’Cie hid of their hostile world in the village of Poltae. But the fact that they were simply living constantly hidden away wouldn’t stop the Secutors from killing every single one of them.

The Secutors were headed toward them, holding their bayonets. Despite that they covered their faces under their helmets, Hope sensed the aura of sufficiency and pride they gave off: even him, who still didn’t know much of the human emotions’ secrets, knew it was because they’d captured what they thought they were three rebel l’Cie fugitives. _“At least they don’t know I am an angel”_ , he thought. _“Though, in my condition, who would even suspect it?”_

“Why, it looks like that our elusive demons have woken up at last”, one of the Secutors, who seemed the boss, said. “Who would’ve said it of you, Captain Yun… Not just a l’Cie, but the very leader of the rebel demons!”

“Spy, traitor, l’Cie and rebel leader in a single shot”, Fang replied with obvious sarcasm, giving him her usual shark-like smile. “Today’s your lucky day, right, Captain? Way luckier than all those years chasing us. You’d certainly have rushed your ass off to notify the High Priestess you’ve done well, for a change.”

The Secutor captain looked briefly annoyed, but pulled himself together seconds later. He came closer to Fang at a deliberately slow pace and bent beside her, pointing at her with her bayonet’s knife.

“Foul-mouthed as ever, Yun. Haven’t you noticed you’re unarmed, chained under the Demon’s Bane spell and any lack of respect to the Order’s sacred hand will be punished accordingly?”

“You speak of respect?”, Fang laughed in the Secutor’s face. “For a bunch of cowards that take advantage of corrupted magic to incapacitate their foes in their backs instead of dealing with them with minimal honor, which is the most one could ask from the Order? Not sorry to tell you that the day I respect the Order, Captain, will be the same your god earns it. Do the math.”

The bayonet’s knife touched the skin of Fang’s chest. Lightning and Hope held their breath, but Fang merely widened her grin.

“You dare sully God’s name with your rudeness, but you’ll learn to fear his power and his word, Captain Yun. Despite you’re part of the demons that plague our world, we intended to strike a deal of good will.”

“Oh, you don’t say. It’s the first time I’ve been offered a deal of good will while I have a bayonet nailed in my chest.”

The Secutor ignored the dragoon’s sarcasm and continued:

“Since you’ve been part of the sacred army, despite our betrayal, I’m confident that part of God’s teachings have gotten to your demonic heart”, Fang snorted in evident disdain, to which the bayonet’s tip plunged a bit more on her skin, still not causing any injure, as a warning. “And as leader of the rebels, Yun, you’re the best person to make this covenant to the Order.”

“Such good will indeed”, she mocked. “I am most honored. Allow me to doubt the High Priestess has shown this much interest in striking a deal with the rebel chief. As far as I recall, her specialty was the massacre of all l’Cie who dared to breathe in her domain, which is more or less the whole of Nova Chrysalia…”

“The High Priestess doesn’t know of this yet”, the Secutor replied. “Undoubtedly her immediate command would’ve been your execution and your minions’. But although her actions honor the divine word, we believe there’s a way for you to redeem yourself and perhaps even save your life as you serve the Order and God’s will.”

Fang raised her eyebrows feigning interest, but the gesture was clearly contemptuous. Despite the plight they were in and that the dragoon’s taunts could entail a grim end for them, Hope couldn’t but admire her cool. He understood better why she was the Vermilion Dawn’s leader, and why she’d earned Lightning’s respect.

“The deal is simple”, the Secutor continued. “We’ll take you and your minions to Luxerion and intercede for our salvation before the High Priestess herself… as long as you agree to confess here and now, and repeat to Her Grace, where are the rest of your demon cult hidden.”

Hope felt the anger that Lightning gave off when she heard the Captain’s conditions, but Fang’s reaction was quite different: the dragoon stared for a moment at the Secutor as if he’d told her a particularly funny joke, and she burst out laughing:

“Oh yes, Captain. That’s _exactly_ what I was planning to do. Why didn’t I think before of betraying all my kind to satisfy the wishes of a fanatical mad woman? Seriously, I’d love to make deal so much, but there are some teensy problems: I’m chained up, I care loads more about my people’s survival than mine, and you’re all a bunch of assholes, starting with you. I’m _really_ sorry. Oh wait… nope, not sorry. Shame.”

In that moment, the bayonet’s knife pierced Fang’s brown skin, causing blood flowing down her chest. Lightning let out a small gasp, but once more the Vermilion Dawn’s leader, indifferent to the pain, simply smiled like a shark. _“Fang would endure any pain if that way she saved those she cares about”_ , Hope thought, amazed. _“She would let these humans pierce her heart without hesitation if that could let us free.”_

“Perhaps I should explain myself better”, the Secutor crouched and drove the knife deeper into Fang’s flesh; she showed him even more teeth in that fierce predator-like grin. “The deal involves two options, Yun: you accept, or you die. I’m offering you the chance to live, which is more than you deserve, as you honor God’s holy will by cleansing the land of demons. The Order forgives and allows demons who choose the path of redemption to live. All you have to do is tell us the whereabouts of your kind.”

As her only reply, Fang spat him in his face. The Secutor was wearing a helmet, so the effect wasn’t as satisfying as it’d have been otherwise, but it was still a clear and blatant act of utter contempt. Enraged, the man swore jumping away as if he’d been bitten by a snake –Hope was rather sure that spit carried more venom than any monster could pump– and brusquely pulled the knife out of Fang’s skin before striking her with an irate slash, opening a cut on her cheek in retaliation.

“Very well”, the Secutor grumbled wiping his visor with his sleeve in disgust, pricking the dragoon with his bayonet; she gave him her widest and most contemptuous grin. “I see your demonic nature is beyond redemption. However, your loyalty to your ilk is commendable…”

Then he slowly turned to Lightning and Hope. The angel didn’t like what he sensed in his aura, much less when he saw Lightning going pale.

“Get them”, the Captain told two of the Secutors with a short movement of his head; the two men, bayonets in position, moved to stand on either side of them both. “We’ll see for how long you’re able to bear watching your beloved demons suffer before you surrender, Captain Yun.”

For the first time, Fang’s smile faded from her face.

“You dirty scumbags”, the dragoon’s voice was dripping venom. “Don’t you dare to touch them in front of me. Kill us all already if you’ve got any drop of blood in your veins.”

This time it was the Secutor’s turn to laugh, and it was a cruel, cold cackle that caused a shiver go down Hope’s spine.

“It turns out that, no matter how much you’ve sought a quick death, we’re more interested in the information that only you can give us”, he replied, and at a wave of his hand, his minions pointed their bayonets to Lightning and Hope’s necks respectively. “Difference being, unlike you, they’re not essential… so if you insist on your refusal, you’ll have to bear in your conscience the deaths of these two.”

Fang gritted her teeth until they squeaked, trying in vain to break the magic chains that bound her and kept her from using her powers. The rage coming from the dragoon left Hope breathless: it was something he’d never sensed before, not even from Lightning. It was a fierce urgency of protection, a killer instinct not fed by bloodthirst, but by the rescue of those she loved. _“Such rage…”_ , the angel looked sideways to the knife brushing his skin, so thin that merely the edge touching it made it bleed. _“If these chains weren’t cursed, Fang would have already broken them.”_

“Let’s see…”, the Secutor’s captain walked sparingly in front of Lightning and Hope, most likely to humiliate Fang further. He stopped before Hope, and looked him up and down in obvious scorn even though his face was hidden under his helmet, before pricking him in the leg with his bayonet. “This one doesn’t look precisely strong or important. Actually, I think he’s the puniest demon I’ve ever seen. Look, he wouldn’t even be able to wield a sword. Are you so desperate to recruit followers to defy us that you even admit those as pathetic as this one, Yun?”

Fang simply winced, refusing to answer the taunt, but Lightning didn’t hesitate to kick the Secutor closest to her as she was able to:

“Leave him alone! If he’s that pathetic as you say, why don’t you mess with those who are truly important, you bastards?!”

The Secutor that Lightning had kicked, irritated, pricked Hope on his side as retaliation, dangerously close to the wounds in his back; the angel gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and humiliation as much as he was able to, but he wasn’t finding it easy. _“The worst is that they’re right. Have I fallen this low so mere humans are harpooning me like a fish now? Is there anything left of my dignity that hasn’t been trampled yet?”_

“No, wait… The demon girl is right”, the Secutors’ boss said raising a hand when his henchman was about to hurt Hope again, “this one probably doesn’t matter even to their leader. No sense in wasting time with him”, and in a swift motion, almost bored, he slashed Hope’s cheek with his bayonet, leaving a cut in its trail quite similar to the one bleeding in Fang’s face. The angel didn’t even protest; he stared at the ground with his eyes unfocused, his blood falling on the sand. _“No, I think there’s nothing left of the angel of God’s dignity that hasn’t been trampled now”_ , he thought merciless and somewhat sarcastically.

“But we already know you… Aren’t you the sister of the Seeress demon who so generously gave us a prophecy?”, the Secutor’s voice turned particularly unpleasant as he said those words, and Hope sensed Lightning’s rage clear as water. “The High Priestess ordered your death not so long ago, child, since in her infinite wisdom she suspected you were a l’Cie like your sister… and besides, you’ve been keeping us from welcoming her into the Order and put her gift to God’s service for a long time. Yes, you’ve caused us a lot of trouble, demon girl.”

“And I’ll keep doing so”, she angrily spat, “as long as the Order continues slaughtering innocent people and trying to take my sister away for your dirty purposes. If you want to get her, it’ll be over my dead body.”

The bayonet’s tip touched the skin of Lightning’s neck, softly sinking it. She couldn’t help but cringe when she felt the cold touch of the weapon, and when he sensed her fear, Hope left his self-contemptuous trance and turned to her.

“Light!”, he exclaimed, to what the Secutor by his side roughly speared him again.

“Shut up!”

The Secutor turned to Fang, who was forced to watch as her comrades were wounded and humiliated helplessly, before bending down next to Lightning for a better angle to whatever he had in mind doing to her.

“Don’t bear the slightest doubt about it. Since you survived the High Priestess’ sacred death sentence, we’ll fulfill that command today, but not before you’ve served a last purpose for Captain Yun to reveal what she must. Consider it fair punishment and atonement for all the trouble you’ve caused the Order… You will be the first one to die, and then every last of you kind will follow”, the man claimed, and he drove the bayonet’s blade into Lightning’s neck slowly spinning it, forcing her to cry out in pain, “as that’s the divine word of the angel of God.”

The sight of the young woman’s blood, combined with those words, caused Hope’s heart stop for a moment… before running wild in seconds, beating like a drum in his chest. And with each beat, blood burned more and more in his veins, like lava building up in a volcano about to erupt. _“The divine word… of the angel of God?!”_ All of a sudden, it was as if all the humiliation and rage passed through him with a whirlwind’s force. The angel yanked at the chains, his burning, enraged gaze fixed on the Secutor that was hurting Lightning; it caused him the same pain as the first time he’d tugged at them, but the pain was nothing compared to the power that was starting to overflow inside him, to the point that, in the middle of night, his body began to uncontrollably tremble as it gave off an increasingly bright luster.

Lightning, Fang and the Secutors, bewildered, turned to the blaze’s source. What they saw was Hope with his face contorted in repressed anger, yanking at the indestructible ensorcelled chains that held him in a way at should’ve left anyone writhing in pain. But at that time they didn’t seem that indestructible: in fact, they were beginning to crack at each enraged jerk from the angel.

“I…”, Hope muttered through clenched teeth, as if he were in a trance, that exorbitant angered stare fixated in the Secutors, who fell back hastily. “I…”

“What the–?!”, their captain turned to one of his minions, the closest to Hope. “You! Do something! Take him out!”

Even if the Secutor had reacted on time, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything against what happened next. With a last, relentless yank, Hope’s body let out an intense golden burst of light that left everyone breathless:

“I HAVE NEVER GIVEN SUCH COMMAND!”, the magic chains, both his and the ones binding Lightning and Fang, specially designed to hold powerful l’Cie, shattered into pieces, and the next thing they could see was an enraged Hope, radiating that golden aura, lunging against the Secutors as he raised a hand: a huge, ornate curved double-edged weapon materialized in it, and the angel spun it around with amazing speed, as if it was light as a feather, reflecting the bullets fired at him by the terrified Secutors. Swift as a breeze, and without that spark of murderous rage leaving his eyes, Hope struck his weapon against them.

Even though Lightning and Fang had fought many battles and had seen death up close many times, nothing could’ve prepared them to witness the angel’s wrath. Hope unleashed his strange and deadly weapon against every single Secutor without any kind of mercy or sympathy, cleanly mowing their bodies as if he were cutting a sheet of paper. He moved with feline grace and agility, dodging by barely flinching, not even making a single sound, but with the furious silence of death’s shadow. The man who came off better was the one that the angel’s blade impaled like a knife piercing through butter.

The last one that was left in a matter of seconds, the captain, who was a little further than the rest, tried to take advantage that Hope had killed one of his men with his back to him, and raised a trembling bayonet to shoot him down. If it were any other situation, Lightning would’ve warned Hope, but she found herself unable to speak, not even daring to step up into the angel’s wrath with her voice. But it wasn’t even necessary: so swiftly they barely had time to blink, Hope turned on his heels; he pulled his curved weapon’s handled and a thread of magic energy appeared through his fingers like a bowstring, and the next moment an arrow of golden fire shot out against the Secutor, who barely had time for its light to be reflected in his helmet’s visor before it hit him and exploded violently, disintegrating his body into embers and ashes that scattered in the desert’s wind.

When silence finally came, Lightning and Fang couldn’t believe the image before them, a scene they’d never imagined it could be remotely real. Hope, the angel who up until that day had even refused to hurt a single monster, stood in cold rage wielding that weapon between bow and double-edged blade in the middle of a huge pool of blood covering the sand and reflecting the Oasis Lighthouse and the New Cocoon’s light, amongst the torn, broken Secutors’ bodies. _“Is this the true power of angels?”_ , Lightning wondered, unable to look away. _“Is this what the other day I could only glimpse?”_

That image, however, lasted only a few moments. Suddenly, it was as if all that anger left Hope’s body as soon as it had flooded him, and the young angel blinked as if he’d just come out of a deep trance. It was then, when he looked around, he faced the carnage around him

“No…”, Hope whispered, opening his eyes wide, shaking like a leaf in a storm. His eyes fell on the weapon in his hands, stained with Secutor blood, and the gleam in his gaze, previously of unstoppable wrath, became of the purest horror. “No… It’s not possible… I… I have done this? … I killed… these humans? …

The weapon fell on the sand when Hope’s hands started shaking so much they were unable to keep holding it, and it dissolved in golden particles as it touched the ground. And then it was him who fell to his knees in horror, unable to fully believe it.

“No… please, no… It can’t be…”, he muttered over and over, his whole body in absolute tension, curled up on himself. “I can’t have done this… I can’t have done this! …”

Lightning and Fang were slow to react, still shocked and scared by what they had witnessed, but when they saw Hope collapsing on the sand they regained part of their poise. The first one to get up, not without caution, was Lightning, who slowly went to him trying not to startle him.

It didn’t help much, because Hope sensed her move and turned to her like a scared animal, to what Lightning couldn’t help but step back. And that was the trigger. The young woman knew she’d make a mistake from the very moment she realized Hope had felt the fear in her aura.

“Light…”, the young angel whispered, his usually calm, monotone voice breaking definitely. She’d never seen so many things in his eyes, and any of them that she wanted to see: panic, confusion, dismay, and most particularly, horror.

“Hope…”, Lightning stepped forward hesitantly, and extended a hand to him. “Easy… It’s all over now… come here.”

“No!”, a burst of invisible energy, strong enough to throw her to the ground, was released from Hope’s body, and Lightning was forced to back down and nail her feet in the sand to not fly away. “Don’t come near me! Get away!”

“Calm down, Hope! It’s me, Lightning! Come on, you can’t stay here! We have to go!”

It was no use; as the young woman moved forward, Hope jumped away from her, trying to run on the sand as much as his shaky legs allowed him, which wasn’t much. He stumbled after a few meters and fell down, but he didn’t seem to care and tried to stand up again, not really succeeding.

“Get away!”, the angel cried with that broken voice, tinged with panic and horror, when Lightning came too close; suddenly she hit a Protect spell that made her stagger. “Don’t get close to me! Go away!”

“I’m not leaving without you, Hope! Put down this stupid barrier now!”

Hope managed to get up a bit, but he was forced to lean on the rocky wall to keep his balance. Between his broken voice, his eyes wide in horror and the cut across his right cheek, he looked as if he was crying tears of blood. It looked hard to believe that few minutes ago he’d claimed the lives of all those Secutors with such fury, and he was so terrified now.

“Do you want to end up like those humans?!”, the angel snapped shaking frantically his head. He could hardly stand up, but he didn’t lack the energy to keep the magic barrier up, even when Lightning tried to remove it with a Deprotect spell. “Stay away from me!”

“Hope, that’s enough! You wouldn’t do that to us!”, Lightning wasn’t sure why she said that since for a moment she’d actually thought Hope would kill them just like he did to the Secutors, but the truth was at seeing him like that she deeply regretted thinking so. “Please, come with me!”

He stepped back as he cold, but before he could do anything else, a shadow jumped from the top of the rocks and hit him right in the back of his neck. Hope froze a moment before his eyes went blank and fell to the ground, and the Protect spell vanished. Lightning’s heart stopped for a second, but she soon recognized Fang when she moved and the Oasis Lighthouse’s light brightened her figure.

“It was faster this way”, the dragoon said as an explanation when Lightning came to her and Hope’s unconscious body. “Don’t you worry, I’ve only calmed him down.”

“How did you get there without him sensing you?”, the young woman asked kneeling by the angel’s side, worried; Fang’s method, despite being much more effective indeed, wasn’t the one she’d have chosen.

“You were too focused on him, and he was too dazed to detect me”, Fang shrugged. “But that’s not the question right now. What do you have in mind, Lightning?”

She understood what Fang meant. She looked down at Hope; even passed out as he was, the angel’s face, covered in blood, was twisted in an horrified grimace, and his whole body was still trembling. _“He looks so fragile…”_ , Lightning thought, still in disbelief. _“It’s so hard to believe he’s the same creature that killed those Secutors that way…”_

“I don’t know, Fang. But we can discuss that later… We must go back to Ruffian as soon as possible, and once we’re out of danger, we’ll talk about this. Besides… I think we need some time to think.”

Fang nodded.

“Alright. Luckily for us, these fools camped quite close to the lighthouse, and that means we’re not too far from Ruffian. I’ll get our weapons, and then we’ll leave. You keep an eye on him until I return.”

Lightning agreed. While Fang headed to the Secutors’ tent, now empty, she examined Hope’s wounds; they didn’t look worse than hers or Fang’s, but she’d got the feeling that they were merely a reflection of the ones that opened in his soul. _“Hope always said life had to be cared for, he scolded us whenever we killed and he never raised his hand against any living thing… How has he been able to do this?”_ , she thought, and she suddenly felt very sad when she remembered how he’d tried to run away from her. _“This world is too cruel for someone like him.”_

Few minutes later, Fang came back with her trusty spear to the back and the sheathed _Lumen_ , Lightning’s electric sword, over her shoulder. She tossed it to the young woman, who caught it and put it to her back.

“How do we take him?”, the dragoon asked looking critically at the unconscious Hope. “Even if Ruffian is quite close, we’ll have to walk, and we’re not exactly in our best shape.”

“He’s not heavy, if we pass his arms over our shoulders it won’t be difficult to carry him between the two of us. We’ve already done it before.”

Fang arched her brows, not really buying it, but once she did what Lightning said and realized that indeed the angel was rather light-weighted, she nodded, satisfied, and both women started walking away from the gruesome result of their capture by the Secutors’ hands, relieved to lose sight of it.

So as they followed the Oasis Lighthouse’s beacon, Lightning and Fang dragged Hope through the desert, constantly in alert, and they didn’t utter another word until the massive rocky crag that housed inside the Dead Dunes’ capital appeared in the distance after they climbed a cliff. Only then Fang allowed a little grin to show in her face, watching Lightning with the spark that always appeared in her eyes whenever she was impressed:

“Well, I suppose that despite all that mess, your angel has done two great favors today to us, sister. He’s saved our skin and incidentally he hasn’t left anyone alive to tell the High Priestess about me, so the Vermilion Dawn will be able to keep spying the Order from the inside. The third favor he’s done is to the Earth Eaters… They’ll probably be quite fed up about dining Secutor squads these days.”

* * *

“I can’t believe what you’re telling me yet”, Serah shook her head, pale and distraught, sitting on one of the cushions. “I know you’re not making it up… it’s just I can’t believe it.”

“Well then, start believing”, Fang replied, bored at having to repeat the same thing yet again. “Your sister and I saw our angel in real live action slaughtering those Secutors with the ease you cut through butter and loads more enraged than a pissed-off behemoth. And it’s not easy feat I admit he even frightened me…”

“But after seeing him… he doesn’t look like that at all. He’s so scared…”, Serah said. Her blue eyes were watery, and Lightning couldn’t blame her. It’d affected her too, more than she’d imagined, the state in which Hope was, after what happened a few days ago.

When Lightning and Fang managed to reach Ruffian, dragging a fainted Hope with them, they were lucky enough that the citizens were having lunch –or the nightly equivalent, given that they lived at night– and therefore they wouldn’t draw unwanted attention. The guards came to meet them once they realized they were carrying a wounded person, and when they saw both women were injured too they rushed to notify Elder Fares. She immediately ordered to take the three of them to the healer’s wing as they warned Serah of their arrival, and they’d stayed there for the rest of the night and next day until their injuries and the anti-magic chains’ effects healed. Or, at least, this had been Lightning and Fang’s case, because Hope was still there, secluded apart in a room away from other patients; they hadn’t said anything about what happened in the desert, but they didn’t have to explain much since as soon as the angel woke up, he’d desperately tried to get away from anyone who came close to him. The healers had to sedate him with spells before taking him to that room, where theoretically he was being treated… even if their cares apparently had little effect on the panic and horror that had overcome him, since it had been over four days already and Hope showed no signs of improvement.

Lightning and Serah had gone to see him the previous night. And literally, ‘seeing’ him was all they could do, for as soon as they tried to approach him, Hope barricaded himself in a corner of the room and raised a Protect spell to prevent them from keep advancing. Serah’s pleas and Lightning’s loss of patience were useless: the angel didn’t budge, insisting over and over that they leave, to stay away from him, with those eyes wide in horror. Upon leaving, the healers told the Farron sisters that Hope spent the hours that he wasn’t under the influence of their spells muttering constantly like a mantra: “what have I done”, he said nonstop, his voice utterly broken.

“The healers say he’s in shock”, Lightning replied rubbing the bandage she had over her injured neck. “We haven’t told them anything, of course, because if someone were to find out what he’s capable of… I know Hope wouldn’t hurt us, not by choice. Just look what having done what he’s done has left him like… So I don’t know what to think. I don’t understand how it’s possible that he got to do something like that.”

“Hmm”, Fang scratched her chin. “If you say your angel is unable to hurt us by choice, have you ever paused to consider that maybe it was an order from his master?”

Lightning flickered, pale. _“An order from Bhunivelze? Could it be he still has such control over Hope?”_

“That doesn’t make any sense”, Serah intervened before her older sister could think much of the implications. “If he’d gotten an order from God, why did he attack the soldiers of the Order that serve him? He’d gone straight against you, and yet… Sis, you said Hope was furious when the Secutor’s captain said the angel of God claimed you had to die, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Just after he nailed that bayonet in my neck.”

“There you have it”, her sister said firmly. “Hope was only protecting you, and actually he saved your lives. Sure, none of us would’ve ever expected him to do it the way you told me, but… it’s still something both of you would do.”

“We both would’ve done it, indeed. I’d certainly had done the same or even more”, Fang shook her head. “But coming from him?, not even in my life I’d have imagined that. And I know, it’s ironic as hell to say this when we’ve believed for most of our existence that the angel of God did just that to us l’Cie. Even more ironic is that the only time we’ve seen him act as the Order preaches he does, he did precisely against them.”

Lightning nodded, deep in thought. It was true Hope had protected them… but if a few days ago, during the Beacon Festival, she’d glimpsed the fire in the angel’s eyes, what she’d seen the other night had been the very heart of a volcano in eruption. A quiet and peaceful creature, almost lethargic sometimes, until it suddenly exploded with murderous rage. _“And in the process, it loses something of itself.”_

“But hey, let’s talk about that most concerns us now”, Fang said, looking seriously at the Farron sisters. “I must go back as quick as I’m able to Luxerion to report the ‘loss’ of both squads at the hands of the evil l’Cie; these wounds that jerk of the captain made to me will grant me a perfect alibi. As for you… when the enemy tracks fugitives, where they least expect finding them is in their own territory. Besides, I doubt the Order in Luxerion knows exactly which l’Cie they’re looking for because Luxerion and Yusnaan’s divisions don’t get along very well. The best thing you can do is come along with me and rest well at home before you head to Poltae.”

“Even if it nags me, you’re right”, Lightning sighed. “The shape we’re in now, we wouldn’t last long in the Wildlands. And we need Hope, too…”

“But he’s still convalescent… When are you planning to leave, Fang?”, Serah asked, concerned. The dragoon tilted her head to do a quick estimate.

“Two days’ my limit. Each moment counts, and I can’t delay my return more than that, or the Order will suspect. If the angel hasn’t got better by then, we’ll have to take him by force, whether he likes or not.”

“I hope we won’t have to come to that”, Lightning replied with a raised eyebrow. “I already know your methods to calm people down, Fang.”

She nonchalantly shrugged.

“And you think if not for my ‘methods’ you could’ve brought him here? Although you may not believe it, I’ve had to deal more than once with people in similar states to the angel’s after seeing things that it’s better you don’t ever witness. Sympathy is a good thing, but there are times when it’s better to save the dramas.”

Before Lightning could reply, Serah got ahead of her sister, driving the topic away:

“Two days… it’s not much time. But I think maybe it’s the best for Hope we take him away from here. You know… to where he’s not remembering all the time he’s in the place where he killed those Secutors. We could leave earlier, perhaps it’s the right thing for him.”

Lightning agreed after pondering it, and Fang sat up on her cushion, toying with her glass of liquor, thinking about Serah’s suggestion.

“I wouldn’t mind leaving before two days, as I’ve told you I’d leave in no more than two days. If you consider it’s better to scoot earlier, then that’s perfect for me. Actually, if you say you wanna leave right now, all I have to do is ask Fares for a cart, and in half an hour at most we’re leaving Ruffian.”

“I think it’s best to wait until morning, at dawn”, Lightning said. “We’ve still got to pack, and besides that, Hope should rest as much as he can. I’ll talk to him before we leave and try convincing him to come… It’s enough we’ve calmed him down by your methods once, Fang.”

“Your loss”, the dragoon replied mockingly. “Then don’t you come to me later pleading that I convince him if he doesn’t listen. The angel’s yours, do whatever you want with him.”

Lightning snorted, irritated. _“Hope’s not my pet”_ , she thought. _“Everyone has been treating him as if he was nothing more than an animal, including myself… And now he’s like a wounded animal that even shuns his own caretaker. I wish I knew what to do for him to let me get close, but it’d be easier if he was just afraid of me… not of himself.”_

“I’m gonna talk to Fares”, Fang said then, jumping up; she didn’t look like she’d been victim mere days ago of the anti-magic chains, unlike Lightning who still accused the effects, “so tomorrow morning we’ll have the cart ready and we leave. You two, pack everything you’ve gotta take with you and rest as much as you can. And Lightning, if you’re gonna try convincing your angel, you’ll have to get up before us, so don’t delay us.”

And without adding another word, as usual, the dragoon crossed the room with a couple of long strides and left. For a while, Lightning and Serah fell silent, watching the sky turning gradually red as the afternoon advanced through the window.

“Don’t blame yourself, sis”, Serah said after a few minutes, putting a hand over her sister’s. “You’re not responsible for Hope’s state. The Secutors are, and you know it.”

She didn’t ask her how she knew what she had in mind. Serah knew her well enough to get the idea, even without Hope’s empathic powers.

“I know”, the young woman sighed, lifting a hand to her forehead, “but I can’t help thinking I’m the one who got him into this mess, and now… What if he doesn’t ever get better?”

“Don’t say that. He just has to cope with what he’s done and learn to live with it… We’ve both done so, you and I.”

“But he’s not like us, Serah. He’s not human, and we know he doesn’t feel things the same way we do.”

Serah shook her head.

“Yes, I know that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help him”, she insisted, staring at Lightning in firm belief. “I’m sure you’ll find the way. Only you could.”

* * *

 _“Serah says I’m the only one who could help Hope…”_ , Lightning thought many hours later, when it was still dark outside, in front of the door behind which the angel was secluded in the healers’ wing. _“That’s easy to say for her. How I’m supposed to help him, if he doesn’t even let me get close?”_

She hadn’t too much time to try and persuade Hope to go with them, but she wanted to try by hook before forcing him to anything. She knew in part Fang was right, that people in shock as he was weren’t in condition to decide anything by themselves, but she didn’t find herself able to hitting him to leave him unconscious, as her friend had done.

She took a deep breath before turning the metal door’s knob, bracing herself for what she’d find once she opened it. When the torchlight slipped inside the room, Lightning glimpsed Hope’s crumpled figure on the rugs, hugging his knees and with that stare that startled her so much, his big eyes open wide and flooding with horror, lost in the infinity. It was as if the sight of the men he’d slain was still there, etched in his pupils, and it was all he could see.

Lightning tried to get in the room without Hope noticing her presence to come to him, but he turned his head to her when she’d just taken a few steps. Immediately Lightning slammed into the magic barrier she was starting to hate.

“Leave!”, Hope cried, curling up even more despite being stuck in the corner, as if he tried to merge with the wall. “Don’t come any closer!”

“And how do you want me to do so, if you don’t stop summoning this stupid Protect?”, she snapped, and angrily hit the green barrier with a fist. “Stop running away, Hope! Let me go there! I won’t hurt you!”

“No! I won’t do so to you!”, the angel was trembling, terrified. “Do you think I want to see you sliced in two on the ground?! Get away!”

Lightning gritted her teeth, so frustrated and distraught. She was aware Hope was scared of himself, that was most obvious, but now she understood he feared hurting them, too. He was the first one who considered himself a danger to others, to the people he was supposed to protect. It wasn’t just a question of guilt.

Scolding Hope, she realized, was the worst thing she could do. She was making him feel even worse. It couldn’t be said that Serah’s sweetness had done much the previous night, but she began to understand what the problem was and the root of the angel’s panic. _“And how can I convince him he won’t hurt us? If only he wasn’t this terrified…”_

“Hope, listen to me! I know you wouldn’t! You promised you wouldn’t hurt us, remember?”

“I was supposed to had vowed to protect all life, too!”, he replied. “You saw what I’ve done just like I have! I could do the same to you the same way I did to them!”

“You really think you would? You trust yourself that poorly?”, she shot back, trying to appeal to Hope’s pride. “I’m no Secutor, nor are Serah and Fang! Why would you kill us, if you have no reason to do it?”

“There is never a reason to take a life away! Never!”, those words sounded like a learned lesson, and Lightning frowned, not knowing what to say. “Nothing excuses killing a living being… There’s no excuse for what I have done… If I killed without reason, who’s telling you I won’t do it again?!”

Increasingly frustrated, Lightning punched again the Protect spell Hope still kept active, which logically didn’t even budge.

“Damn it, Hope! I don’t have time for this! We have to go back to Luxerion, you can’t stay here locked up like a criminal!”

“Isn’t that what I am?!”, Hope had shunned her gaze all the time, but now he looked her straight in the eyes. Lightning had to force herself to keep her composure when she saw those eyes, up until then always calm and almost absent-minded, bulging with absolute terror and despair. “I’m nothing more than a murderer! Go away and forget about me!”

She had to take a deep breath to try calming down. _“How in the world does Serah intend I help you? I don’t even know what I can do or what I can say!”_ , she thought, looking away, unable to hold the angel’s terrified glare. _“But the sun’s rising, and I can’t spend hours in here trying to convince him… for our own safety.”_

“Go away…”, Hope whispered, who had also looked away and had buried his face between his knees, trembling, his voice quivering in fear and sorrow. “Please, go away…”

And Lightning made a decision. If it was too early to apply Serah’s advice, then she’d have to follow Fang’s. _“But I’ll do it my way… I can’t give you more pain than you’re already dealing with.”_

“I’m not leaving”, she said in a low voice, raising a hand behind the Protect spell. “I won’t abandon you.”

With a gentle wave, she directed her magic to him. It passed through the barrier, meant to shield against physical blows, not magic unlike its Shell version. Within seconds, Hope’s eyelids closed, and the angel fell fast asleep on the rugs. The Sleep spell or their variations was probably what the healers had used to sedate him, but Lightning was confident that one cast by a l’Cie would be far more powerful. Perhaps it’d take him a day or two to wake up.

“Sis?”, then she heard Serah’s voice behind her; Lightning turned to her sister, who had just arrived accompanied by two healers. “Fang says the cart’s ready… How did it go?”

She simply let Serah see for herself Hope asleep in the corner. Serah’s face took a saddened expression, but she nodded:

“He’ll get fine in due time. Everything will turn fine, you’ll see.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Serah”, Lightning sighed in deep concern, as the healers came into the room to take Hope to Fang’s cart. “You haven’t seen him like I have. I’m afraid he’ll never be the same again…”

Her younger sister frowned, watching the healers carrying away Hope’s sleeping body. Lightning seemed to want to go with them, but she knew those men were far better prepared than her for cases like this.

“No one’s the same as before after killing another being, even if it was in self-defense. But we learn from it and we become stronger”, Serah mused after a silence. “Once he overcomes it, Hope might be different, but even if he’s now suffering, he’ll tough up. That’s all you have to teach him, the rest he must figure out himself.”

Lightning said nothing. She and Serah left the place, each lost in their own thoughts, until they crossed Ruffian’s gates, where Fang was standing with a couple of guards by the side of a small cart pulled by two sand sahuagins, on which the healers had already left Hope. The sun was starting to rise, so they had to hurry before the desert’s heat got stronger.

Once the cart, led by Fang, began to move, headed towards the Dead Dunes’ monorail station, Lightning stared at Ruffian’s rocky crag until the city inside the rocks got out of sight, and then her gaze fell on the angel sleeping by the sisters’ side on a rug, his face pale and drawn, almost like when he just descended and lost his wings.

They were leaving the desert at last, but a part of Hope would remain there forever, and the scar it had left in his soul would never fade away.

_“His wrath saved us all… but the price was far too high. And I can’t ignore that it was me who forced him to accept it…”_


	26. Understand

"So, you're meeting Fang and Noel today again?", Serah asked Lightning while they were both having lunch at the dining table. Her sister nodded, thoughtfully poking around the steaming contents of the plate before her.

"One day after another. I get Fang's concerns and I share them, too, but I think she's losing it. If only we could go out there and be on guard duty… But we just spend all time discussing strategies that make no sense at all."

"Keep in mind the Order's still on alert, sis. They've lost two squads and they know there are l'Cie on the loose", Serah noted. "Fang just wants to protect us all until we're ready to take action again."

"I already know that. I'm just saying I'd rather take that action instead of wasting our time", Lightning sighed resignedly. "Specially now that we know what our next destination is."

Serah shook her head, bus she gave her a half-smile.

"Well, don't you worry. Thanks to you, things seem to be getting better. I'm sure you'll soon be able to get back to work."

Lightning frowned at her younger sister's comment, but she said nothing. _"It's indeed true things have improved in these last days, but there's still a long way ahead… if ever waters calm down, that is."_

"I wish I could go with you guys", Serah continued since Lightning didn't reply, "but given that you won't allow me, it'd be nice of you if you told me what are you planning to do."

"You're still not ready to come to the Wildlands. The Dead Dunes' was an accident", she growled, "and it could've been pretty bad for you. Your brand is healing well enough for you to reawaken it after these five years of efforts."

Serah let out an exaggerated sigh:

"Well yes, you've told me hundreds of times. And I know that, and that's the only reason I'd stay here while you risk your life out there. But if I'm lucky enough, my brand will go dormant soon, and then it'll be the time for me to catch up, as long as you haven't defeated the Order by then, that is."

"You wish", Lightning let out a short muffled laugh. "But at this rate, I doubt it. Fang won't stop ranting about ways to storm the Cathedral when we haven't even set foot in the Wildlands, and almost all of the ideas that come to her mind end up in us charging into the front gate. I'm starting to think either she's too bored, or maybe frustrated, or even both."

"Fang has always been much less patient than you", Serah smiled, "and that's saying something. I'm sure she was ecstatic when you told her about the improvements."

The young woman shrugged.

"In her own way. From the moment I told her, she talks more about the Wildlands and less of the Cathedral, which is a relief. Noel went on to say he was thinking of bombing the Cathedral all by himself if only that stopped Fang from rambling."

"He certainly wouldn't have to bear many ramblings if his plan ended up killing Vanille."

"Well, yeah. He said he'd rather have Fang impaling him than having to hear every day how to raid the Cathedral and in the end going back to square one again and again."

Serah laughed, but she didn't comment. For a while, the Farron sisters ate in silence, each one lost in her thoughts. _"We've been doing nothing for more than a month"_ , Lightning thought, _"and that'd have riled me not so long ago… I can't say it doesn't frustrate me though, but I must admit, our mission isn't our priority right now."_

When she finally finished her lunch, she got up not so enthusiastically and put the plate in the sink. Her sister looked at her amusedly, undoubtedly well aware of how resigned she felt.

"I'm dazzled about how much you fancy to go hear Fang's ramblings."

"You don't say", Lightning replied in sarcasm, to which Serah's smile widened.

"You could always tell her you're sick and that you can't go, if it's that terrible as it seems."

Lightning looked at her as if she'd just lost her mind:

"If saying that ever crosses my mind, Fang would come straight home to take me in tow. Besides, I don't think she'd even believe I'm sick, l'Cie don't get sick very often."

"Your problem, not mine", Serah sighed feigning exasperation; then, when Lightning was about to leave, she stopped her with a wave of her hand. "Oh, wait, could you please take the bowl I've left in the fridge to Hope before you go?"

"He hasn't eaten it?", Lightning frowned; if that was so, then it wasn't a good sign.

"He asked me to leave it in there for later, but it's getting late for lunch. Maybe he's fallen asleep", Serah said soothingly when she noted her sister's concern. "Take it to him, and see how's he doing, just in case."

Lightning nodded, somewhat calmer. Even though things were starting to get better, they couldn't stop paying constant attention to Hope, and at the same time they couldn't overwhelm him with their presence. It was a balance quite complicated to keep, as fragile as the angel's current mood. _"Sometimes it's like the slightest thing could break him"_ , the young woman thought as she took from the fridge the bowl of soup Serah cooked specifically for him, and as she went up the stairs to her room she heated it up with a variant of the Fire spell. _"And the fact that he guesses what we're thinking makes things even more difficult. I'm beginning to understand why mind reading is actually more like a curse than a gift."_

She hesitated for a moment before knocking the door. She still remembered too well how, just three weeks ago, Hope reacted whenever someone entered the room. Even if it didn't happen anymore, Lightning couldn't help but getting a bit nervous. The angel's stability was hanging from a thread. A _very_ fragile thread. _"But it's better than nothing."_

"Hope?", Lightning called after gently knocking. There was no answer, so perhaps Serah was right and he was asleep. Without any other choice, she opened the door and peered inside, hoping to see him lying on the bed. However, she found that, in fact, the angel was sitting on the small couch next to the window, his face absent and in deep melancholy considering what his usually marble-like expressivity allowed him to show. Although it wasn't the best change in the world, at least it was no longer a constant grimace of horror… and for Lightning, that was a source of relief, albeit at the expense of his apathy.

She sighed, worried despite everything, and went to him with the bowl in her hands, trying not to make any noise in order to not startle him. Sometimes it seemed like she had to walk through a minefield… which, actually, it wasn't that far from what reality was. One wrong step, and Hope could again explode in the way he'd done over a month ago.

However, the angel didn't realize her presence. It wasn't the first time, and that was what most concerned Lightning lately. If he concentrated, Hope could sense people's auras around two-hundred meters away from him, and of course it wasn't hard at all for him to feel if anyone was getting close. Either the recent events affected his powers, or he'd withdrawn into himself so much the auras of people were simply bouncing off his shell.

"Hope…", Lightning said softly, gently touching his shoulder. He quickly turned his head around, which proved that, despite what might look, he wasn't as absent as it could appear, yet his eyes were still strangely languid and dull when he looked at her.

"Hello, Light", he simply murmured, blinking slowly. Lightning held back a relieved sigh: despite his apathy, his answer was as kind as… well, as it had been for around a week. But he didn't seem like he'd worsened, not at all.

Though she couldn't be sure that he'd gotten better, of course.

"I brought you lunch", Lightning told him showing the soup bowl. "Serah told me you said you'd eat later, and she's asked me to take it to you."

Hope slowly looked down to the bowl, as if he had to focus to understand what Lightning was telling him.

"Oh… I forgot", he replied, and looked away to the window. "Thank you… You can leave it on the table."

It wasn't a very enthusiastic reply, and Lightning worried that Hope forgot again about lunch. It wasn't the first time it happened, and the last thing he needed was to stop eating. He'd already spent a few weeks barely being fed when Lightning and Serah had been forced to keep him sedated under the Sleep spell, and it had taken a severe toll on him. The young woman had wondered quite a few times if his lack of energy wouldn't be a side effect of that starvation period. However, she couldn't argue with him; she knew what was at stake, and bluntness was no longer an option.

She left the bowl on the small table next to the couch, as Hope had asked, and she turned to leave, but she gazed back at the young angel and she couldn't help but turning around. Seeing him so listless, so out of it, after having witnessed how his life force grew stronger until it exploded in such a terrible way in the Dead Dunes gave her a painful twinge in her heart… and the sad thing was, the state he was in now was _loads_ better than the one he'd been in until about three weeks earlier.

"Hey, Hope…", Lightning crouched beside the couch and, a little hesitant, she rested a hand on his wrist, wrapped in that yellow cloth she'd given him to cover the now healed wound that assassin of the Order inflicted to him; he slightly stiffened at the touch, but he didn't take his hand away. "You okay?"

The angel took some long seconds to answer.

"I can't say I am", he said then, his voice weary. "I am not feeling worse, which is something."

"I know, but…", Lightning bit her lower lip, not quite sure of how to say what she meant. _"The other day I did it by instinct… I don't even know if I could do it again"_ , she thought in frustration. "If there's anything haunting you… you know, you don't have to keep it to you. You can _share_ it."

That made Hope finally look away from the window and directly at her. For a moment, Lightning feared she'd said the wrong thing, but the angel didn't seem to be losing control. His eyes had a sad, faint spark, almost guilty, but they were serene.

"I appreciate the offer, Light", Hope replied, and shook his head, "but you did enough for me the other day. I am aware you felt bad for several days after you did so."

He was right, Lightning had to admit. But she didn't regret it, though. It had been necessary, and she'd do it again if she had to. Not in vain she had managed to _understand_ …

"You sensed that?", at least that was good news, since it meant Hope wasn't as oblivious to what happened around him as she thought. "Well it's true, but… if you need any help, those bad days aren't that terrible."

The angel's expression barely softened, but Lightning noted it before his face went back to his usual deadpan. However, the warm gleam in his eyes remained in them.

"I've had worse", he replied blinking slowly. "Besides…"

She waited for him to finish the line, but Hope didn't continue.

"Besides, what?", she insisted to his silence, but he frowned and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Don't worry, Light. You helped me the other day… but now I must follow the path by myself, without dragging anyone else with me."

Lightning wanted to keep asking, but Hope had already drifted his gaze again to the window, a sign that meant he didn't want to talk anymore. Still, she thought she guessed what he meant, and that meant he'd been thinking all that time about what happened days ago. _"Could that be why he hardly speaks and reacts? Is he so absorbed brooding about it?"_

In any case, she had no time left to continue chatting. When she looked up at the clock, she realized she was late for the meeting with Fang and Noel, and she knew well enough how little the Vermilion Dawn's leader liked the lack of punctuality.

"Well then…", she nodded, and took away her hand from Hope's wrist before getting up, but then she briefly put it on his shoulder. "But remember, if you really need it, you can count on me. Right?"

Hope's only answer was to barely narrow his eyes, but Lightning knew that with that gesture, the angel meant he got it. Without another word, she left the room, trying to make as little noise as possible, as if she didn't want to disrupt his thoughtful silence.

She said goodbye to Serah, and as she left home and headed for Noel's pub, Lightning couldn't help but think about how much everything had changed from that day, only three weeks ago. Not just because things had gotten better, even if in a way that was completely different from the one they headed until what happened in the Dead Dunes…

They had changed too because she had been able to _understand_.

* * *

The following days after their return from the Dead Dunes hadn't been easy at all for the Farron sisters. Not only because they had to be constantly on guard in case the Order identified them as the l'Cie fugitives of Yusnaan, but they now had to tend Hope, who was in extreme shock, pretty much round the clock. And that, as Lightning found out shortly after returning to their house in the capital, was lots harder than keep the Order at bay.

Not that it was particularly dangerous, but it was heart-rending seeing Hope, the serene and innocent angel, consumed by the horror that had taken over him.

The Sleep spell the young woman cast on him to take him from the Dead Dunes to Luxerion lasted a couple of days, as she'd calculated. That allowed her and Serah to enhance their house's magic defenses and accommodate him better without worrying about his condition all the time. But as the spell wore off, the Farron sisters had to resort to sedation almost on a daily basis, despite themselves.

It couldn't be said that Hope was violent, not at all. If had been left all alone, he'd have been consumed almost in complete silence except from the periods of time in which he endlessly repeated 'what have I done' between tormented whispers. And he'd been literally consumed, since he completely lost appetite and he couldn't even sleep, no matter how exhausted he was or how many hours he'd been awake. And as it was to be expected, the moment Lightning or Serah appeared in the doorway, the angel didn't hesitate to block their way with his powerful Protect spell.

In the end, the sisters decided to keep him under the Sleep spell's effects, both to grant him the rest his state didn't allow him and to at least made him drink and keep him alive by vitamin supplements and energy transference, since they couldn't make him eat as he was asleep. And yes, that prevented him from dying of absolute starvation, but inevitably, Hope, who already was quite lean, lost more and more weight and muscle mass to the point his ethereal looks turned outright spectral.

The only times Lightning had been able to get close to Hope since the moment the angel had saved her and Fang by reaping the lives of those Secutors amidst of his outburst of rage was whenever he was fast asleep under the Sleep spell. And she was realizing how much it affected her to see him in such a terrible shape. _"I accused him of being an empty shell"_ , she thought one night in which she'd gone to give him some water; by then, Hope had alarmingly thinned and his dark circles under his closed eyes highlighted how extremely pale his skin was getting. _"If I had only known… It is now when he really seems so, and I wish I didn't have had to see him like this."_

And even though Serah insisted over and over again that it wasn't her fault, Lightning still felt responsible. Hope had done something completely against his nature when he saw her in danger, and thus he'd dealt himself a brutal blow. If not for him, they'd most likely be dead along Fang, and the Vermilion Dawn would've been doomed. And all of it to save her life, the life of someone who so far hadn't shown him the slightest sign of gratitude.

 _"_ _I treated him like an item"_ , Lightning mused, angry to herself at seeing the young angel so fragile, so emaciated, lying in bed, perhaps in an even worse condition than when they rescued him in the midst of that storm outside their house with his wings ripped away. _"I made him believe the whole world hated him, I despised each and every single one of his actions, I judged him without even letting him speak for himself. I've done nothing but demand of him, and even though I never thanked him for anything wholeheartedly, he's not only never complained, but he's never stopped supporting me, even in a quest that everyone else considers a utopia. And I've been blind to all of this until he's saved my life at the expense of his own sanity."_

She couldn't help but feeling that rejection towards the angel and his bonds to Bhunivelze. But she'd learned to read past Hope's marble face, beyond his limitations, and she'd managed to decipher emotions through his deadpan. Long ago, she'd wanted to convince herself that she was imagining things, that Hope was merely an unwilled servant of God. But as she spent time with him, it became crystal clear that had nothing to do with how reality was. As much as she wanted to think otherwise.

And for that reason, she had never shown gratitude to Hope for everything he'd done for her. The angel had been doing nothing but to give without getting a single thing in return.

 _"_ _Serah keeps telling me I'm the only one who can help you out of this…"_ , Lightning thought, with a lump in her throat, unwittingly stroking the yellow wristband she'd given him not so long as it seemed, after another time in which Hope had risked his own life to protect hers. _"But the truth is, the only thing I've done is getting you into all of this mess. How can I help you, if I haven't even been able to take care of you? How?"_

* * *

A couple of hours after Lightning left to her reunion with Fang and Noel in _The Farseer's Rest_ , Serah went upstairs once she'd finished washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. She'd just noticed a bowl was missing, the one her older sister had brought Hope with her special soup she'd been cooking for him for a few days now; his condition had left him with a weak stomach, and even though the angel was unable to expel bad digestions from his body –and that was in many ways a good thing– he could spend whole hours feeling awful until his metabolism eliminated the toxins in his organism. So Serah had decided to cook him meals that weren't difficult to assimilate until he felt better, and that soup was the one that he tolerated the best, mostly because it was easier for him to eat, or rather drink, it.

Serah sighed, shaking her head, as she headed for her sister's room, which ever since they took Hope in it had basically become his. Even if she wasn't as responsible of him as Lightning was, she'd gotten used to the angel's presence in their house, and there was no denying she'd ended up growing fond of him. It was very hard for her to see him in the state he was in, and she wanted to help him overcome his grief. And even though Lightning strove to deny it, she'd grown fond of the angel as well, and Serah knew for a fact that it was incredibly frustrating to her to not being able to do anything to help him.

She also suspected that, for her sister, helping Hope wasn't just in pursue of her mission of finding the Heart of Bhunivelze as soon as possible anymore.

The very idea made her smile to herself. Since Lightning refused to admit what she'd been long trying to make her understand, maybe she'd end up realizing it herself. But she didn't want to harbor a lot of hopes: she was well aware of how stubborn and close-minded her older sister could be.

And after all, that mission was what had allowed her to keep going for almost two centuries… She wouldn't give up that easily what she'd been yearning for so long.

She frowned, trying to push aside those thoughts from her mind, and turned the doorknob trying to not make too much noise in case Hope was sleeping. When she looked inside, she saw the young angel lying on his back in bed, but Serah knew he wasn't asleep, not when he had a leg crossed over the other.

"Hey, Hope", she greeted him with a sweet smile. "Sorry if I startled you."

"It's alright", he replied calmly; he didn't even bother to open his eyes. "I knew it was you even before you opened the door. Besides, Light always says you never knock."

She widened her smile. She couldn't say that Hope was precisely prone to sarcasm, but for a few days now –that is, since he'd begun to show signs of improvement– she'd noticed his replies were much drier and direct than before. It was a noticeable change coming from the cautious, shy angel who always weighed his words to avoid hurting those around him, but Serah preferred to consider it remarkable. Even if it was at the cost of his pure, genuine innocence.

"Ah, I see this time you've not left anything on the bowl", Serah nodded, pleased to see that Hope had eaten all the soup; other times he'd left almost half of it, but she knew they couldn't force his fragile stomach to take more than he could. "Atta boy. I hope you're not bored of all these frugal meals…"

"No. In fact, I thank you for them. I'm not as picky as you humans are with food, I don't really mind if it tastes better than other. I would rather have a bland meal instead of spending hours feeling worse than I already am."

Serah smiled, but Hope didn't notice since he hadn't opened his eyes. To be honest, he looked far better in recent days. At least he seemed no longer to be deader than alive, both physically and emotionally. Whatever Lightning said, she'd managed to get Hope out of the pit of his own horror, and with it, the angel was loads more receptive to the Farron sister's positive energy. Sometimes, indeed, it looked like Hope fed much more from that energy than from any meal.

She took the empty bowl and headed for the door without saying anything, with the intention of leaving Hope alone because it was hard enough for him to find moments of genuine peace for anyone to ruin them. However, when she was halfway, the angel's voice stopped her:

"Serah…"

She turned to him and found out that Hope opened his eyes at last. His expression, as always, was unreadable, but his eyes had a strange spark that she couldn't identify.

"What's wrong, Hope?", she asked him, worried.

He didn't answer right away. He furrowed his brow as if he didn't know what exactly to say before going on, once he probably gave order to his thoughts. Which was unusual, Serah noted, because rule of thumb up until then was that Hope didn't usually hesitate when he wanted to ask something.

"You were the one who made the prophecy about Light and King Mikhail", he finally said in a low voice. "That prophecy Light wants to happen so much."

Serah blinked in surprise by how sudden his assertion was, puzzled.

"Yes, that's right. Why do you ask? You saw it yourself with my sister and Fang when you were in the Dead Dunes–", she stopped short in her tracks: they'd sought not to mention the Dead Dunes in front of Hope to not trigger him with memories. But Hope merely closed his eyes for a second as his only reaction.

"I saw it, yes. I heard as well what the prophecy said. And it showed Light together with that king. She looked happy… Happier than I've ever seen her. Everything seemed perfect…"

The angel stopped and pursed his lips. It was difficult to guess what was going through his head, but Serah felt like he had trouble to express whatever he wanted to say or ask. But what she found most interesting was that, in those circumstances, Hope was talking about something that had nothing to do with the Secutors' death –or rather, slaughter– at his hands in the Dead Dunes.

That was undoubtedly a good sign, but she had no idea of where was Hope trying to go with such conclusions. At his silence, Serah nodded to let him know she was listening and that he might keep talking, in part because she was curious about what he thought about the prophecy.

What she didn't expect was Hope's question, dry and straightforward, and most of all, a lapidary one:

"Do you think that prophecy should be fulfilled?"

There was a brief silence in which Serah blinked a few times, stunned; the question had completely taken her off-guard. That was _definitely_ not like him: it wasn't the first time Hope proved to disagree with them, but it had always been after someone else exposed their own ideas or plans. Up until then, the angel had never voiced criticism born of his own criteria. And of course, she didn't expect the criticism in question was about the very mission everyone took for granted that it had to become true.

"Hope…", Serah tried to regain her composure when she realized he was staring at her, waiting for her answer. "Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you tell my sister? It's she the one who's truly interested in bringing back King Mikhail, not me."

"That is why I am asking you", Hope replied briefly raising his eyebrows. "Light wishes so much the prophecy comes to pass that the simple question would be unconceivable to her. You, on the other hand, don't look to agree that much with her. I'm not stupid, despite what you may think of me", he noted when he sensed Serah's surprise to that remark. "I have been spending quite some time by now among humans and it wasn't yesterday when I learned to identify when you agree with something and when you don't."

Serah shook her head, not knowing what to say at first. She was surprised at the sudden strength coming from Hope's words, and it was a pleasant surprise, even though she hadn't seen it coming after everything that happened to him. Perhaps, after all, his horrible experience in the Dead Dunes had been useful for him more than she thought.

And of course, his question was deep and interesting enough to not grant him her opinion on it.

"You're not too wrong in your guess", Serah gave him a tiny smile and left the empty bowl on the table with a sigh. "But the truth is, it's much more complicated than just agreeing or not. It's a prophecy we're talking about, and in theory they're visions of things that will happen in the future. There would be little point in trying to defy it, and much less if it's a vision that promises good things to come. And if it's going to happen, it wouldn't be logic that someone would try to make it true, you see?"

"Not too much", Hope replied raising his eyebrows. "But I gather you're trying to say that if the prophecy is to become true, it wouldn't be necessary to do anything to ensure it happens, since it is the future that it will come to pass."

"Yeah, more or less. However, things happen from time to time… Actions or circumstances that alter the original timeline in which the prophecy took place, and history takes another course", Serah explained. "I told you that way because that way it's easier to understand which this prophecy's quirk is. If King Mikhail's return is recorded in a prophecy, then why are we struggling to make it happen?"

Hope narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on her.

"I think I get what you mean."

"When the timeline changes, the affected prophecies become blurred", Serah confirmed with an approving half-smile. "That means they can no longer take place, they're but echoes of routes that could've been but no longer are. A mere trace is left, but the image is lost. It doesn't happen very often, but as you've probably guessed, it's our prophecy's case."

The angel remained silent for long seconds. Serah could almost see the gears spinning in his brain as he processed all this new data.

"If the King's image was blurred, does that mean it won't happen? Then why Light is so obsessed about fulfilling what can't take place anymore?"

"Because according to my sister, the timeline is always changing. And in a sense, she's right", Serah sighed, almost bitterly. "If our actions can change a prophecy, then they can correct it as well. That's the theory, and it makes sense, but if I'm honest, to my knowledge no one has been able to change the timeline at will in order to correct a particular lost prophecy. Besides, in the prophecy only Mikhail's image was blurred, which to date had never happened. That's why Sis is so bent on believing that she only has to change what prevented the King's return… and I'm sure you've guessed how she intends to work that miracle."

"The Heart of Bhunivelze", Hope muttered, frowning. "Does she plan to use it to correct the timeline? And how will she know what she has to change in order for the King to come back from the dead?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I think her plan is just using the Heart's power to bring him back. And if it's true the Heart grants the deepest wishes of its owner, then I suppose it'd correct the timeline by itself to do that… But since you asked me my opinion, I'll tell you that even if Mikhail's return was completely out of risks, I've spent many years trying to convince my sister out of it", Serah confessed, her voice suddenly tired. "You see, the prophecy has been blurred from the very moment I made it. She insists that if I was able to see it was because it could still happen, but I'm not that sure. The Seers' powers aren't easy to understand even to ourselves, Hope. And my sister has been grasping at straws for almost two centuries… All because the prophecy showed a future where she could live in peace together with someone who loved her."

"So the only reason Light is so obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy is because it promised that the King would be her future love?", Hope tilted his head.

"There are other reasons, of course… but that's the most powerful one, indeed. Not that I blame her", Serah sadly replied, "because our lives haven't been overflowing with love, to say the least. She strives to keep that from interfering with our mission, but the truth is it has _become_ our mission, and she's given up too much in pursuit of making it happen. I lost faith in the prophecy long ago, Hope, but I keep fighting on for my own convictions. And seeing my own sister suffering more every day because she's unable to leave that prophecy behind and with it, the promise of Mikhail's return, hurts me more than you can imagine."

Hope said nothing at first. He'd been deeply thinking about what the younger Farron sister had just told him. It was true, the angel didn't doubt Serah's sincerity; he sensed clear as water her sorrow and frustration at her older sister's plight. The same way he'd been feeling the longing in Lightning's aura. _"Light doesn't know what living truly means… For almost two hundred years, she has been chasing a prophecy that can't take place anymore, searching for the only thing that could make it true, in exchange for her own happiness"_ , he thought, and briefly closed his eyes. _"I begin to understand why Light says we're more alike than we thought. I haven't known what living is truly like, and I might never get to know that. I am not human… and I've committed crimes that make me unworthy of calling myself an angel. If only I knew what my path should be… At least Light does know what she wants."_

"But this is just between you and me", Serah's voice returned him to reality. "Lightning has heard my rants about it enough times and I doubt she'd like to learn I've been 'biasing' your opinion. I just want you to know you're not the only one who thinks so. Finding the Heart of Bhunivelze is one thing, but using it for what my sister wants it sounds wrong to me. As you've rightly noted, we shouldn't dig in the past. Clinging to it prevents us from moving forward, and Sis is a fine example of that."

"I won't mention this conversation", Hope replied resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes, as he let his mind wander between his restless thoughts. "Thank you, Serah. I appreciate you trusted me with your opinion… Now I need to think about all this. If you'll excuse me…"

She smiled warmly and took the empty bowl again before heading to the door.

"Of course, I won't bother you anymore. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

He nodded, barely reacting when Serah left the room and closed the door behind her. That conversation had given him much to think about…

 _"_ _Light doesn't share her hopes and fears with anyone. She keeps them inside, without letting them out ever, until there comes a point where she's unable to restrain them anymore"_ , Hope mused, understanding a lot of things. _"What she did with me… it was so unlike her. But now I get why she did it. It was all she could do for me. Maybe I should follow her example, even if it is not like me. Maybe the path I should take starts by stopping thinking about myself… and think for myself."_

* * *

_"_ _This can't keep going on like this"_ , was the conclusion Lightning had come to terms, several weeks after the Dead Dunes' incident, unable to deal with the vision of Hope being consumed day after day by his own horror and not being even able to get close and try reasoning with him when he was awake and conscious. _"I must try something, anything, for him to listen to me. And if he doesn't the easy way, then it'll be the hard one."_

That night, after hours without falling asleep because of her growing concern about the angel's state, she'd decided to take drastic measures. She got up from the bed trying to not wake up Serah –since they only had two bedrooms and Hope had taken hers, the Farron sisters slept together– and headed down the hallway, where her bedroom was. She hadn't the faintest idea of how to get Hope out of that trance, but at least she had one thing clear: he was going to listen to her, whether he wanted it or not.

And even though the basic idea of how to do that had been roaming her head for a long time now, she'd been unable to carry it out until a couple of days ago, when she'd finally felt that her magic was again fully recovered: the side effects of the Demon's Bane spell, as the Order called the kind of dark arts they used to block crystal-origin magic like l'Cie had, didn't wear off instantly. That was why it was so dangerous to l'Cie and so effective against them. And without her magic at one-hundred percent, Lightning knew she couldn't counter the magic of an angel like Hope.

She hadn't done it before she was waiting to find out how to help Hope, as Serah told her. But weeks passed by and nothing came to her mind, and she wasn't willing to let the angel's condition to rob her any more hours of sleep.

Once she got to her bedroom's door, Lightning stopped and closed her eyes. Judging by what time it was, the effects of the last Sleep spell they had used to sedate Hope would already were gone, but she preferred to be sure about it, since her determination wouldn't be of any use if he was asleep. By focusing on the traces of magic at the other side of the door, she confirmed it was as she guessed: Hope was awake, and probably so absorbed in his inner horror that he wouldn't have even sensed she was on the other side. But it could be a matter of time that he felt her aura, so Lightning decided not to take risks. Focusing as much as she could, because the spell she was about to cast was complicated and she didn't use it often, she made a quick magic wave towards the door and into the room. She felt a change in the air around her, some kind of distortion in her surroundings, and she smiled to herself.

It had worked. Now only remained to see if her spell was strong enough to counter Hope's power.

After taking a deep breath, Lightning opened the door, bracing herself to face the young angel, extremely pale and drawn, hugging his legs with eyes open wide. He was almost unrecognizable, nothing to do with the serene and innocent creature he was before what happened in the Dead Dunes. A ghost of his former self, trapped in a nightmare from which he couldn't wake up.

As Lightning got into the room, Hope reacted like a spring, something that although she'd seen before, was still surprising; no one, human or l'Cie, would have any energy left to even move after whole weeks without eating and hardly sleeping. Much less to keep up a Protect spell powerful enough to prevent a l'Cie from undoing it.

"Get away!", he exclaimed, as usual, raising his hand to her to create the magic barrier Lightning had come to hate with all her might.

However, this time, something went different than the usual way: the Protect spell didn't materialize. Not even when Hope tried again.

"What–?", the angel looked down at his hands, terrified and confused when his magic had no effect at all, before Lightning's satisfied look. "No… My magic… What is happening? Why it isn't working?!"

"Calm down, and don't bother. Your magic hasn't stopped working because of you, but of me", she told him, unable to hide a little smirk. Hope looked up at her, a spark of panic in his eyes.

"It can't be… What have you done?! You can't counter my magic!"

"I've already realized that casting Deprotect against you is a waste of time. I'm no expert in the saboteur branch of spells. But even though I can't aspire to match an angel in terms of power, among my kind I'm a l'Cie with enough power to seal any non-damaging spell", Lightning raised an eyebrow. "If you've heard of the Dispel spell, you'll know you have no choice now but to forget about your Protect and listen to me once and for all."

If there was any trace of color left in Hope's face, it faded away at these words. It wasn't hard to get why: all that time, he'd shielded behind his magic to prevent the Farron sisters to get close to him, and he apparently had grown confident that both were unable to counter his power. And it was true, yes… but he hadn't thought that an enough skilled l'Cie like Lightning could cast Dispel to create a magic interference that outright dissolved any spell from the synergy and saboteur branches. Now he was left without any kind of resource, cornered in that room and without any way of escape.

"No!", Hope jumped out of the bed, trying to back off and get away from her, but it was then when his lack of sleep and food showed up, making him stagger as his feet touched the floor; still, he managed to not collapse right there. "Don't come near me! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I'm going to come closer and you're gonna listen to me", Lightning replied walking toward him, to what the angel looked around desperately, undoubtedly searching for some way either to run away or stop her. "Hope, look at you. Is this what you want to become? One thing is grieving for what you did, but not letting anyone help you?"

"Nothing and no one can help me! Don't you get it?! There's nothing and nobody in this world who can justify what I have done!", despite his legs had obvious trouble to keep his balance, Hope didn't stop backing away in a vain attempt to make distance between him and Lightning. "I took away the lives I was supposed to protect! Even among you humans, murder is punished by death! And that is what I deserve for my crimes!"

Lightning expected many possible replies, but she certainly didn't imagine that Hope basically answered that, since he couldn't sentence himself to death, he considered fair just to let himself die. _"Has he fallen so deep down without us even realizing?"_

"Are you telling me you think you must die to atone for your sins? Have you lost your mind?!", the young woman shook her head in disbelief. "Get a hold of yourself already, Hope! You haven't done anything wrong! Or are you idiot enough to consider the lives of those who want to take yours more important than your own?"

"I– I… I don't know!", Hope exclaimed in confusion; in his vain try to get away from her, his back ended up meeting the wall, and panic swallowed him up when he realized he was cornered. "But there's no greater crime than taking the life I had to protect! And if I have done that to them, who's telling you I can't kill you or your sister with the same ease and no reason at all?!"

"Stop talking nonsense! You had every reason to do what you did! Besides, don't you remember your promise? You said you'd never hurt Serah nor me! And for all I know, angels can't lie!"

"Angels can't either go against their masters' direct commands!", he replied, growing increasingly terrified as Lightning slowly got closer, for she didn't want to scare him more than he already was. "I was supposed to watch over all life on this planet! I don't deserve to be called an angel… I'm nothing but a murderer! I failed my purpose and my hands are stained with blood for all eternity! On what moral or principles I can live on after what I've done?!"

Lightning felt anger and frustration begin to bubble inside her, but her rage wasn't specifically aimed at Hope, but rather his blind beliefs in what he had been taught by Bhunivelze. She was starting to understand what was devouring the angel from the inside, and if it was what she thought, helping him wouldn't be _that_ hard… if not because Hope wasn't letting her do that at all. _"Damn your moral and your principles! To hell with whatever your goddamn master instilled on you!"_

"It was a matter of life or death, Hope!", she snapped at him, taking a couple of bold strides toward him, feeling how her tension and impotence overcame her. "It was either your life or theirs! Haven't you learned anything in the time you've been down here? Have you forgotten this soon all the lessons I've been trying to make you understand in these months?"

Suddenly, the angel stopped trying to get away from her and turned to her with the speed and energy alike to a wounded and cornered animal, which triggered all of Lightning's alarms; she'd seen for herself that Hope could be a ticking-time bomb if he lost control of himself.

"You can't understand me! Nobody can!", he lashed out at her; in his eyes there was a furious gleam of anguish and despair, as if he were a caged beast. "You consider me a fool for wishing over and over to go back in time and bring back to life the people I cast away from it! I've seen hundreds, thousands, _millions_ die without anyone regretting the deaths of countless fallen in your senseless wars… You humans don't even care about death! You don't spare a thought for those you kill to keep your lives, as long as you're the ones who are left standing!"

Lightning couldn't take it anymore.

All the tension and frustration she'd been long restraining inside her overflowed her self-control, and then she punched him on the cheek in such a quick and sudden motion that Hope didn't even see it coming. The strength of the impact knocked him down and pushed him back quite a bit, and the angel fell over backwards to the floor with a red mark on his face where Lightning's fist had hit him.

"I can't understand you, you say? It's you who doesn't know a damn thing about me!", Lightning snarled in anger, breathing hard and fast. "So you think I'm a killing machine without feelings? That I enjoy slaughtering those who want to hurt us? That I don't wish with all my heart and soul, more than you can begin to imagine, to not having ever shed others' blood? The first time I killed someone, I spent entire weeks without sleeping, for I couldn't stop crying. My sister went through the same when she was forced to kill in order to survive! We've been years, decades, fighting and killing, ever since we were more children than adults, and the only thing that allows a warrior to keep his sanity intact, the only thought that allows him to move forward without taking his own life away in remorse, is the belief that with each death he's protecting those who he loves! How dare you even imply that we don't care about every life we take? If I keep fighting and standing is because it's been a long time since I have no tears left to shed for those who died at my hands! But once I decided that my life and my sister's were worthier than the ones from those who wanted us dead! And you have the nerve to tell me I can't understand you?! If there's something I can't understand is why you don't even consider your own life more important than the people who don't respect it, or why can't you accept that what you did was self-defense, or why have you isolated from us when you needed our help the most!"

There was a long, tense silence. Lightning tried to calm down, to compose herself again, already regretting losing control and hitting Hope. _"Not so long ago, I tried to do that and I wanted to do it so much, and now… I wish I hadn't. Fine, Lightning, if you wanted to fix things up, you've just ruined everything."_

Yet Hope didn't react. He'd been left sitting in the floor, clearly shocked and confused, with one hand over the cheek Lightning had punched him in. And he was trembling, his eyes wide and unfocused, his breath ragged and his jaw clenched. It seemed almost as if the wounded, cornered beast she'd seen in his eyes just minutes ago was fiercely trying to get free, clawing at the walls of its cage. She felt her anger and impotence rising up again at watching the angel right there on the floor, without even lifting a finger to protest or even defend himself despite the gratuitous punch he'd taken. _"Dammit! Does he even holds a bit of self-respect at all? No normal person would be sitting still after what I did without flying into a rage or burst into–!"_

And then there was made light in her mind.

Hope's hard breathing, his trembling body, his unfocused eyes… Despite his expressive limitations, Lightning realized it was the body language of anyone sobbing. Yet the angel hadn't shed a single tear. His eyes were completely dry, wide open, like an empty dam.

It was then when she remembered Hope's words that evening in Yusnaan, when she and Serah had a walk with him through the streets of the city, wondering why he looked happier than usual: _"The happiness isn't mine. It is what is around me what you see. I am… let us say, quite limited, experiencing it for myself."_

Hope was some sort of channeling device. The same way he felt happier whenever joy was around him, he felt sad when he sensed others' sorrow. But he was but the reflection of his surroundings, an ephemeral vessel designed to feel the flow of the planet's energy in order to identify any changes in its balance.

His purpose was to channel the energy he felt from the outside and give it meaning through him. He hadn't been created to do the same with energy coming from himself.

When Lightning came to grips to what this meant, all of her anger towards him was gone, immediately replaced by an unbearable lump in her throat. _"It's not that Hope is too shocked to cry…"_ , she realized. _"He's outright unable to cry. He can't channel outside him the energy that he feels. Either it's stuck inside him… or it uncontrollably explodes, just like it happened in the Dead Dunes"_ , the young woman guessed, turning pale. _"Bhunivelze, you wretched bastard… Who would be cruel enough to deny his servant the very right to cry and laugh for himself?"_

If this was true, Hope had been _whole weeks_ with all that horror and remorse stuck inside him, eating away at his soul and sanity, completely unable to vent because of the plain and simple fact that he hadn't been created with that purpose. No wonder he'd ended up coming to the conclusions he'd said in despair. Any other person would've turned hopelessly insane for less than what the angel had been enduring.

Instinctively, Lightning then knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath to calm down, and knelt beside him. Without giving him time to react –which, immersed as he was in his own trance, he didn't– and not allowing herself to think that what she was about to do was against her own principles, the young woman pulled him into her arms, as firmly as carefully.

"… Light, what are you doing?", Hope weakly protested, tensing, and he tried to pull her away. "Don't get close to me! Don't you realize the danger you're–?"

"Shut up, dummy head", she cut him short, hugging him tighter to not let him push her. "Share it with me."

The young angel was left speechless. He was still in tension, but he stopped trying to back off.

"What–?"

"Share with me all your pain. You can't keep it forever inside you, Hope. If I have to be the one who channels it for you, so be it."

"But…", Hope whispered, almost breathlessly. "Light, I… If I do that, you–"

"I know what I'm doing, and I don't care. Now shut your mouth and do it already", Lightning's words were blunt, but her voice was soft. "You won't go through this alone."

He hesitated, but he finally embraced her back after some long moments, and he buried his face in her shoulder, deeply breathing. Just a few seconds later, Lightning felt a stream of energy, very weak initially, that began flowing from the angel to her body, and she sensed how her heart gradually absorbed it. At first she nearly ran out of air: that energy was overflowing with fear, sorrow, regret and horror. It was like drowning in a pit of the darkest despair, with no way out of it. She held back a gasp and clung a bit more to Hope, as if he was her only lifeline: she had to resist, no matter how grievous was what she was feeling. She was well aware that despair was only a fraction of what he'd been feeling inside for quite a while.

For several minutes, Lightning and Hope held each other on the floor, as the angel transferred to her that negative energy he couldn't get rid of by himself. She did her best to remain steady, but the pain and sorrow were getting so unbearable they began to cloud her mind and weaken her body which started shaking, and her eyes moistened more as seconds passed. But she couldn't allow herself to stop, no matter how deep the suffering getting over her was. _"I must endure"_ , she told herself over and over, trying to stay focused, _"I can't stop now. I have to help him… I must channel everything he can't… I have to–"_

Then, all of a sudden, the energy flow sharply decreased until it was gone. Puzzled at this, Lightning tried to find again the transfer bond, but she was met by Hope's light-green eyes, exhausted and framed by dark circles, yes, but lightened by a faint spark of seriousness. It had been so long since she had last seen the angel's eyes so serene that she was left without words.

"That is enough, Light…", Hope muttered, resting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her a bit away from him. "Leave it."

"Don't be stupid", she protested, but her voice failed her and she had to take a couple of breaths to prevent her voice to break again. "I haven't yet finished. I can still hold on a bit longer–"

"No", the angel shook his head. "You told me to share it, not to pass all of it to you… And you've suffered too much for me when you didn't have to."

Lightning wanted to reply, but then she felt her head spinning when all the negative energy she'd absorbed from Hope overcame her. She was about to break down crying, but she made a huge effort to control herself. She couldn't allow him to see how much it had affected her, not if she ever wanted to help him again. She knew Hope well enough to know he wouldn't let her do it again.

The angel hold her quietly, patiently waiting for her to get better. He also seemed to be trying to give order to… _whatever_ he was feeling right then. He still looked so fragile, so drawn as before, but now Lightning could see in him the Hope she had known. Perhaps the sharpness in his face, the jaded gleam in his eyes, they weren't there before… but at least he no longer looked like a specter consumed by the torment of the horror he couldn't break free of.

"I'll be fine… Don't worry about me", the young woman said once she regained her breath and strength to not let all the despair she absorbed take over. "But I'd have wanted to help you more than I've done…"

"You have done more for me than you can imagine", Hope replied staring at her with those weary eyes, but loads calmer than they had been during those long, terrible weeks. "You don't know how much."

She tried to smile, but it was an extremely weak one. The negativity she'd channeled from Hope clouded her positive energy, but seeing the angel out of his trance relieved her more than she'd believed it would. _"I did it… Serah was right, as usual. All I had to do was to understand the real problem… I only had to put myself in his place, just that."_

"Can you stand up?", the young woman asked Hope as she pulled away from him and tried to get up; she inwardly cursed the weakness all that negative energy caused her because it almost was as if her legs were made of butter.

"I could ask you the same", he replied when he had to hold her to keep her from falling over, and she did so when the angel, to whom the lack of food and rest was beginning to take its toll, nearly lost his balance. "I am sorry, Light. I didn't want to–"

"You apologize once more and you've earned yourself another punch", the young woman grunted, to which Hope chose to not argue. "I can handle myself… You have to rest now, okay? So go get some sleep and stop protesting. Will you need a spell to sleep?"

Hope, who had sat on the edge of the bed, shook his head:

"No, I won't. I… I think I can fall asleep by myself, thanks to you."

Lightning smiled, this time a bit more successful. Walking slowly to not fall flat on the floor, she went to the room's door.

"Right. Now try get some rest and don't think too much about what you don't have to think about for now, you hear me? And if you need anything, no matter what it is, let me know. I'm gonna sleep, but just remember… You're not alone, Hope. I'll be watching over you."

Before closing the door and leaving behind at last those terrible events that had threatened to plunge them all in a dark point of no return, she heard the angel's voice, weary but soft and serene when he whispered:

"Thank you, Light… Thank you so much."

* * *

Lightning sighed in resignation as she went down the hallway towards the stairs; once again, like almost every day, she was meeting with Fang and Noel in _The Farseer's Rest_ , to discuss more action plans that were plain useless as long as Hope was still recovering. It had been two weeks since that day when she'd brought him that soup, and while it hadn't been the last time they'd talked, it was the last long conversation they had shared. In fact, since that day, Hope had locked himself away in a state of deep thought, and neither Lightning nor Serah knew for sure if that was good or not. During his recovery, they'd gotten used to the angel barely uttering more than three sentences in a row, but his sudden silence after his slow but progressive improvement had taken them off-guard.

To be honest, more to Lightning than to Serah. The younger Farron sister seemed to know why it happened, but no matter how much she nagged her, Lightning failed to make her speak.

 _"_ _If he just told us what's he gotten in his head this time…"_ , the young woman thought, frustrated. _"Sometimes I think it'd be much easier talking to a wall and get some answers."_

It wasn't easy to understand Hope. Throughout their coexistence with him, Lightning and Serah learned to decipher the course of his thoughts from his minimal gestures, but of course, not always their guessing was correct. At the end of the day, he was an angel: despite he didn't look that different from humans without wings, he wasn't.

However, following the moment Hope shared his energy with her, Lightning now knew much more about how he thought and how he felt. During the days she'd spent filtering all that negative energy, she had processed in passing other emotions that, probably unintentionally, the angel had transferred to her as well. Deciphering the emotions of such an emotionally limited creature like him wasn't an easy task, but at the very least Lightning had one thing clear: she couldn't say anymore Hope was an empty shell.

 _"_ _He thinks and feels similar to us"_ , Lightning thought, still sorrowful at the revelation that had been the key to get Hope out of his trance, _"but he can't express it because he's not been created to feel for himself. He's been denied his own consciousness from the very moment he was born… and he's only know to live through those around him. That's why he values infinitely more other people's lives than his own. If only we had learned of this before…"_

And even though Hope seemed to regain his health and stability, who knew when he'd be able again to continue searching for the Heart of Bhunivelze. How long it had been since they returned from the Dead Dunes? Lightning estimated that it'd been around two months. All that time stuck in a dead end, and it was, as usual, the Order's doing.

All they could do was to wait… and endure Fang's endless ramblings in the meantime.

But then, when Lightning had already went down a couple of steps, she heard behind her a calm voice that made her stop short, mainly because it'd been almost two months since she last heard it outside her room:

"Light, wait…"

She turned, stunned, to find Hope half-leaning in her room's doorway, as if he didn't quite dare to leave it; however, he'd locked himself up in there all that time, and that was what left Lightning speechless. She realized she'd come to think he'd never see daylight again.

"Are you in a hurry?", he asked, making her come back to reality. "I wouldn't want to delay you… I just wanted to tell you something before you go meet Fang and Noel."

"No, don't worry. They can wait a bit longer", she wasn't going to tell him she was already late when the angel had finally decided to leave his burrow to talk to her, of course. "What is it, Hope? Is everything alright?"

Hope slightly shrugged. There was a spark of insecurity in his eyes, but he didn't hesitate when he stared at her.

"I have had better times, but I'll survive. That is not what I wanted to talk about, anyway… Tell me, do you know when you will be going to the Wildlands?"

Lightning didn't know what to answer at first. She'd expected any other question coming from him, but certainly not one as straightforward.

"Well, Fang's been making plans for several weeks now, but there's still nothing official on the table. We were waiting for things, so to speak, to calm down… Why you asking?"

"Because there is no need to keep waiting", the angel replied not taking his eyes away from hers. "Once you decide when you'll be going, let me know. Is that okay with you?"

If the former reply had left Lightning puzzled, the latter stole every single word she might have in store. She couldn't believe what she heard. Was he really saying what she thought he meant?

"Hope… Are you implying that you…? I mean… are you aware of what you're saying?"

"I've had plenty of time to be so", he replied as he briefly raised his eyebrows. "And yes, I am saying I will go with you to the Wildlands whenever you consider we must go. It is not that hard to understand, right? Or would you rather prefer I don't go with you?"

"No! No, not at all. It's just… are you completely sure?", Lightning made an effort to put an order to her rushing thoughts. "If you come, we'll have to deal with who knows how many dangers, and there will be no choice but to fight our way in… Are you ready to go through it? I know you don't fight the same way we do, but–"

She was cut when Hope tilted his head, as he always did whenever he was lost in thought. But there was no trace of doubt in his eyes, which stared at her in deep determination.

"My hands are stained with blood forever. I will stay true to my principles, but if I must take any lives again, I'll do it if I have no other option. I have been thinking a lot all these days, and, you know, you were right… I don't consider my life more important than any other living being's. But I do consider yours and your sister's like that. You saved _my_ life, and I haven't forgotten that debt to you", he replied, and he let out a long, weary sigh. "If in my intent of not spilling blood I allowed you to be killed… then I'd be betraying my principles in the same way I do when I end a life with my own hands. I care more about your life than mine, and of course much more than anyone's who wish you any harm."

At first, Lightning found herself unable to react coherently. She knew too well how much violence and death affected Hope, specially if he was responsible for it. She herself had felt in her own soul the pain and regret it caused him inside. But he was willing to go through that suffering again… for her and Serah. Because they'd been the ones who had saved his life in the first place.

He had always been returning the favor.

Once again, following an impulse that her logic and pride would've rejected, the young woman embraced him, overcome with gratitude. Hope didn't resist, but neither hugged her back; in fact, judging from how his lean body tensed up, he seemed rather to have been caught completely by surprise.

"Light, what are you doing? I am telling you I'll go with you. I don't need to share with you any bad things to feel better…"

"Dummy head", she chuckled, pulling away from him, "humans not just share bad things to feel better. We can share positive feelings too. If you transferred me your pain, I can do the same to you with my gratitude, don't you think?"

Hope stared at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"You owe me nothing. You've had a hard time because of me, you punched me in the face and now you pay with gratitude the suffering I have caused you. I don't understand you, Light."

The young woman smiled and shook her head, but she said nothing. She set out to get back on her way to _The Farseer's Rest_ , eager to tell Fang and Noel the good news, not before saying goodbye to the angel with a wave of her hand after pointing to the clock on the wall as an explanation, to which he nodded and went back to the room to not steal any more time from her.

 _"_ _I owe you more than you think, Hope. And if not for you, I'd have never come to understand it… nor I'd been able to understand you."_


	27. Secrets

The first thing Hope could see after his feet left the monorail wagon and the world around him stopped spinning around was green. The station was carved into the rocks, yes, but by then the monorail had already left and one could see the lush meadow before it, under a strikingly blue sky. The angel took a deep breath, feeling how his dizziness disappeared as his life force absorbed all the vibrant energy in the air.

"Welcome to the Wildlands!", Noel announced as he jokingly opened his arms wide. "Best place to live in the whole Nova Chrysalia. Nature everywhere, healthy cuisine and free of undesirable fanatic presence!"

"Oh, so now you're a Wildlands' tourism promotor as well as an innkeeper?", Lightning mockingly asked him; she was helping Hope keep his balance until he completely overcame his dizziness. "I didn't know business was going that bad for you."

Noel ruffled his nose; it was not the first, nor would it be the last, that his comrades teased him about his work as 'warden' of the Vermilion Dawn's operations' base.

"It wouldn't be going that bad if it weren't because it's good for us not many people know about its existence. But anyway, what do you think, Hope? Liking the Wildlands?"

"Even if it is too early to grant you a definitive answer", Hope replied, still feeling a bit dizzy but already able to stand by himself, "but first impression is good. There's so much life in here… Much more than in any other place I have been."

"Not for anything this is one of the few places in the world where the Order doesn't have any power, so they haven't been able to take the land and cut down the forests to build any camps. Not because they haven't tried, of course", Lightning made a wry half-smile, "but keyword here is 'tried'. The Wildlands still resist the invasion of Bhunivelze's creed… but that also means sometimes Secutors come and try their luck."

Noel laughed.

"Yeah, but it's evident they're not used to deal with the Wildlands' beasts. Many of them end up as main courses for the behemoths' stomachs. And those who don't, either they flee like the coward rats they are, or our hunters finish the job."

"All of this you're telling me sounds like, no matter how peaceful it seems around here, there is war here in the Wildlands", Hope noted, slightly furrowing his brow. Lightning sighed, following Noel close when he waved them to move, and they went down the station's steps to the outdoors.

"More or less. I guess it's been that way for so long that we no longer consider it as such. After all, Secutors have never been a real threat here."

In that moment, the exit of the cave that housed the station appeared before them. The bright noon sunlight briefly blinded Hope, who had spent a lot of time without going outdoors, and that morning they had left Luxerion so early it was almost dawn. _"Now that I am looking back… I realize I might hadn't seen the sunlight anymore, if I had not come out of that dark pit inside me"_ , the angel thought. _"If it hadn't been for Light… I don't want to imagine what would have become of me. Even though deep inside, I know."_

"Well!, now let's recap the plan", Noel put his arms on his hips. "We have a long road ahead, fraught with dangers and obstacles, and we'll have to sleep in the open as bloodthirsty monsters lurk around us wanting nothing but gutting us right there and–"

"Noel, no matter how hard you try making this journey to sound epic, it won't change the fact we're in an errand", Lightning cut him slyly, and the young man rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay! I just wanted to give some excitement to it. However, the second part of the trip _will_ be epic, I grant you that. Anyway…", Noel pointed to the east, where high rocky hills rose. "Behind those hills are the Eremite Plains, our first stop in our adventure in the Wildlands. There we'll find our mark."

Lightning nodded and Hope simply tilted his head.

"I know the Wildlands quite well, but I haven't been around that area many times and never by walking. Do you know how long will that take us to get there?", she asked him. Noel shrugged.

"A couple days, perhaps, if we don't stop on the way more than necessary. But I thought we shouldn't tire Hope, right? You know, in case he still can't keep our pace."

"Don't worry about me", Hope replied before Lightning could. "I will keep the pace you decide. I'll be following."

"You sure?", Lightning seemed unconvinced. "You're not fully recovered. And yes, your back is much better than before, but if you overreach yourself the wounds could open again…"

The angel frowned.

"I'll go through it. That is nothing compared to what I already have endured."

She wanted to argue, but she couldn't think or anything appropriate, so she chose to remain silent. She did not know if Hope was referring to their previous journeys across Yusnaan and the Dead Dunes or those weeks of suffering and despair that befell their last one. As they both followed Noel, who beckoned them to do so, Lightning wondered if Hope was really prepared for the trials that the Wildlands were about to put them through. He insisted that they did not have to worry about him, but that had not answered her specific question.

 _"Even if some things have change, others remain as ever, and Hope's ambivalence is one of them"_ , Lightning sighed, side-glancing him. _"I guess he'll have to prove if he's truly ready for this."_

* * *

"Alright", Fang had said a few days earlier in _The Farseer's Rest_ , standing in front of the table where Lightning had spread her map of Nova Chrysalia, studying it with obvious interest. "If you're completely sure your angel's gonna be able to withstand the journey to the Wildlands, there's no reason to further delay what we've gotta do. We've waited well enough, don't ya think?"

Lightning had to agree with her. Between Hope's convalescence began and since he told her he was willing to go with her to the Wildlands around two months had passed and gone. And while it had given them time for the Order to lower its guard and keep going with their activities more safely, it had also been a long, uncertain wait when they already got in their knowledge the information they needed to continue their search.

"So what's our next step?", the young woman asked, studying her old map. There were many notes written over it, the result of her travels through the four continents in pursuit of the Heart of Bhunivelze. _"Who'd have thought its track would be so close…"_

"Obviously, you've gotta go to Poltae, the angel and you", Fang smiled, pointing to the point of the map where the hidden village was. "Isn't that what the fal'Cie told you to do? Getting there is simple: you take the monorail and walk up to Poltae. You know the way, so that's the least of our worries. The most one, as you'd have guessed, is the many obstacles you might find in that way."

"Secutors and monsters", Noel intervened, who was sitting in a chair, absently fiddling with a glass between his fingers. "Generally, in the Wildlands the dangerous ones are the latter. It's quite pathetic, but even nowadays Secutors _still_ have no idea of how getting around there."

Fang frowned, and she remained silent for a few seconds with her arms crossed, staring at the map. Lightning knew her well enough to know when the dragoon feared for her agents' safety, and that if she did it was for good reasons.

"Even if these weeks of staying idle have indeed been frustrating, they've served me well to monitor the Order's movements", she finally said, looking gravely at them. "And besides, they provided me the time I needed to get data from inside, thanks to Vanille. According to my findings, Noel, the Secutors could be a bigger problem than usual."

"How's that?", Noel blinked, puzzled. Lightning couldn't blame him: he was a Wildlands' native, and he had spent much of his lifetime protecting his land from any threat, and that included Secutors. And according to the hunters' criteria, these were among the least dangerous ones.

Fang did not answer immediately, and once she did, she chose her words more carefully than usual in her.

"I wouldn't like rushing to confirm anything, but it'll do for now if we just don't take the Order lightly. Now, I know you're gonna tell me you don't, but knowing the Wildlands' history in dealing with Secutors, it's almost a tradition to do so. For now, sunshine", she said, turning to Lightning, "you focus yourself on getting the angel safe and sound to Poltae and come back in one piece with all the info you gather. I'll be monitoring what the Order has at hand… and cut it if they begin causing more trouble than usual."

Lightning was not so convinced, but she had no choice but to accept. She knew Fang was keeping something from them, but on the other hand, she might have her reasons. She was the Vermilion Dawn's leader, after all, and the safety of her group was on her. No matter how much concern her secrets gave to her subordinates.

However, Fang must had sensed the discontent of both, so she grinned.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't give me the long face, there's a time for each thing and this one isn't to discuss this stuff. Still…", the dragoon reached into the folds of her long scarlet skirt, and she pulled out a rolled parchment with a string and sealing wax. "Maybe I could use a little help, y'know, Noel?"

The young man looked up at her, almost letting the glass he was fiddling with fall, caught by surprise.

"Help? For what? Why you looking at me like that?"

"C'mon, you're the one who's always complaining about being locked in the inn and not being allowed to show your worth", Fang rolled her eyes theatrically, and she waved the parchment inches away from his nose. "Well, it just happens I've got the perfect mission for you. Or is it that all your talk about pushing the rookie aside was only talk after all?"

Noel blinked as if he could not believe what he was hearing.

"A… a mission? Really?", he stammered. "You're not kidding me, are you?, because that'd be too cruel, even for you."

"Well no, not this time", Fang let out a laugh. "You see, I've gotta give this secret message to one of our agents in the Wildlands. You might think going from innkeeper to messenger isn't much different to being the errand boy, but it happens that even though I'd go myself, right now I can't leave the Order unchecked for our own well-being, and that's not even considering you know the Wildlands loads better than I do. Besides, the content of this message is too important to entrust it to anyone else; in short, I trust you, Noel, that this message reaches its destination intact. So you better not betray my trust, have I made myself clear?"

 _"Crystal clear"_ , Lightning thought, barely holding back a smile. Fang wanted the message to reach its addressee remaining secret even from its holder, and despite her brusque manners, she trusted Noel's integrity. At first glance it did not seem like a very relevant task, but if the letter was truly that important, then it would mean a lot to Noel that he had been assigned to carry it out.

"Yeah… Yes, of course! I'll make sure this message arrives to its destination!", once he recovered from the surprise, Noel nodded enthusiastically, beaming. "You can count on me, Captain Yun!"

"Atta boy", Fang smiled. "So let's do one thing, then. You go with Lightning and the angel to the Wildlands, and you guys first give the message over. And then you escort them to Poltae so we don't have to regret any casualty along the way. I don't think you have any complaints about this, have you? And you, sunshine? Neither you? Well I'm glad, 'cause I wasn't gonna listen to them anyway."

Lightning and Noel had not even had time to reply, but they did not object either. Not just because, indeed, Fang would have not listened, but because the plan worked perfectly for both. It was much safer that they all traveled together, if the Order was truly up to something serious. _"Every day I'm more convinced that no one in Nova Chrysalia has more nerve and leadership gifts than Fang"_ , the young woman thought, amused. _"Sometimes I think, we wouldn't even need Mikhail to defeat the Order, as long as she remains at the forefront."_

* * *

Although the Wildlands were filled by life on all sides and it was like a balm for Hope's weakened aura, the angel was beginning to understand why Lightning had not brought him to this place earlier, not until he considerably got better. It was a land plagued by feral and ruthless life in which the monsters thrived across and considered meal any traveler who ventured into their field of vision. Only because they were constantly alert they had been able to repel their ambushes as they made their way toward the first stop on their journey, north of the Wildlands. Fortunately, they had not been very powerful monsters the ones that attacked them, but Noel warned that overnight was when the fiercest beasts went hunting, and those ones _could_ be a challenge even for the most experienced hunters.

Still, Hope wondered what kind of monsters could pose a challenge for a l'Cie. Lightning and Noel had cleared the way with hardly any trouble whenever hungry and bold beasts gave a try at them. For the moment, the hardest part of the journey was the route itself, especially once they left behind the meadows and ventured into the rocky, arid land that were the Eremite Plains.

"How are you feeling?", Lightning asked Hope the night of the fourth day; they had camped under a huge crag, around a small fire, after casting a series of defensive spell that would protect them from nocturnal predators. As usual, Noel fell asleep shortly after devouring the frugal dinner –valis' ribs, apelike creatures that were commonly sighted running around the plains– and he was a bit away from them.

"I'm tired", the angel replied, and slightly shrugged, "but otherwise I am fine."

Lightning nodded, satisfied. She had seen by herself that Hope was able to keep their pace during those four days, which was remarkable considering it had been not that long after he was convalescent.

"I'm glad. How about your back? Does it hurt?"

The last few times Lightning checked the wounds on Hope's back, she had realized how much they had improved in recent weeks. They still looked swollen and the skin was extremely sensitive and fragile, but they had already closed and began to heal properly. _"It sometimes looks like he has forgotten about his wounds"_ , the young woman thought, _"and to think that just until a month ago he found hard to even move without hurting."_

"Only if I make prolonged efforts. Right now, I feel it a little stiff, but…", Hope carefully stretched, as if trying out the limits of his pain. "I will feel well again tomorrow. And, ever since we got to the Wildlands, I'm feeling much better."

Lightning carefully observed his moves. It was true that, for some time now, Hope was much more agile, stronger than before. She had not stopped to consider that it might be due to the recovery from his wounds, especially because he was deep in his post-traumatic crisis when the signs began to manifest. _"Or maybe it all started even before all that…"_ , the young woman mused, looking away from the angel, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. _"Maybe it happened during the time we spent in the Dead Dunes, and it's just that at the time we didn't realize…"_

"What is exactly what we have to do in the Eremite Plains?", Hope asked, pulling her out of her memories of their stay in Ruffian. "I know you told me we have come because of a mission of the Vermilion Dawn, but you didn't give any details to me."

"I couldn't give you any details while we were in Luxerion", she clarified, "because it's supposed to be info the Order can't know that we have under any circumstances, and it'd be foolish to talk about it in their power's seat. Now that we're in the Wildlands, I can tell you. We're gonna deliver a message to one of Fang's agents; well, actually it's Noel who has to do it. We're just going with him, so after he does, he'll escort us to Poltae. And I can't tell you more, because not even he knows what that message says."

A little further, Noel shifted in his sleep and mumbled something by the fire, just when Hope stared at him.

"An agent of the Vermilion Dawn, then? Do you know him or is it the first time you're going to meet him?"

"We're not as many as to not know each other", Lightning sardonically half-smiled. "His name's Sazh, and he lives in a wrecked airship with his family, breeding chocobos. It sounds quite bucolic, but he's actually one of our best informants, and he provides us mounts and provisions here in the Wildlands as well. Despite living away from other villages, which in some ways is good for him, around here everyone knows him."

Hope tilted his head. It was hard to know what was he thinking, but Lightning guessed he was wondering what kind of person would live in the middle of nowhere inside a downed airship. She asked herself the same question in her day, until she personally met the kind chocobo breeder.

"I have never seen a chocobo", the angel suddenly said. Lightning blinked at the sudden comment, although she was used to him noting things that apparently had nothing to do with the topic discussed minutes earlier. It was just that she still was caught by surprise by his –sometimes– erratic way of thinking.

"Really? You've never seen one?"

"Well, I might have in my visions up in the Ark…", Hope mused. "But I've never seen one up close. I do know they are large birds that humans use as mounts in the surface, but not much more."

"The truth is that time ago, when the Rising Stars ruled, it was quite usual to see chocobos all throughout Nova Chrysalia", Lightning explained; she found a bit curious how Hope referred to the world, as 'surface'. "Now you'll only find them in the Wildlands. The Order doesn't like them at all, you know."

"Why not? They are just big birds."

She let out a short chuckle. _"And yet he retains his innocence, bless him."_

"They're much more than that. They have magic abilities, almost like l'Cie, and that magic depends on the color of their feathers. According to some legends, they were a gift that fal'Cie Pandaemonium for its newly born l'Cie: magic birds that would serve them as mounts, companions and protectors. In fact, the Order coined the term 'demon birds' to refer to chocobos, and it is considered extremely suspicious to own one out of the Wildlands."

Hope seemed surprised in his limited spectrum of facial expression. Almost like a child who is told a fantastic tale for the first time.

"And this man… Sazh, you say… breeds them?"

"He's not the only one who does", Lightning shrugged, "but he's the best of them. Sure, not everyone can afford one of his chocobos. We Vermilion Dawn's members are fortunate in that regard."

"You mean you all have your own chocobo?", the angel's eyes widened a bit more than usual.

"I _had_ my own chocobo", she noted reluctantly, and then she pointed to Noel, "but Noel and all others still do. Or they should, in any case. Sazh hasn't yet given one to Serah because apparently any hatchling has been appropriate for her to date. He's quite picky in that sense, he can wait for years until he gets the one he thinks it's best for you."

She was almost sure that Hope would ask about her lost chocobo, but to her relief, the angel did not say anything about it. He probably felt she did not want to talk about it. _"I'm the black sheep, as always. Somehow, and never meaning any good for me, I stand out from the rest."_ And it was not just the chocobo thing. There were more reasons, and Lightning was reminded of them every single day of her life. They were always present to a greater or lesser extent.

"There are so many things I don't know of this world…", Hope muttered after a while, staring at the fire. "I've seen a lot, but I have never understood it. Your myths, your history… everything is alien to me. And fascinating. I find it fascinating as well."

"Nova Chrysalia's history would be much more interesting and rich if the Order hadn't spent so many efforts erasing the parts that didn't suit them. But some things have endured, especially here in the Wildlands. I haven't studied the old legends as Serah did, but I could try telling you some stories", Lightning replied. Deep down she was not surprised by Hope's interest on the past; he had already sneaked away during their stay in Yusnaan to the palace's library to read everything that he could get his hands on. _"If I saw myself trapped in a world of which I know nothing, and I was forced to live with its inhabitants, I guess I'd also want to know everything I could about them."_

The angel gave her a long gaze. It made her nervous when he did that, mainly because it was virtually impossible to know what was going through his head.

"That would be nice", he said then, slowly blinking. "I'd be most grateful if you told me about the world, Light. That way I could understand it better… actually, I _want to_ understand it better."

Any other person would not have been so taken aback by those words, but Lightning had shared enough time with Hope to realize this was the first time the young angel spoke aloud of something he wanted. Yes, indeed he had done it in his own way, with well chosen and almost tentative words, but not so long ago it would have been unthinkable that the shy, quiet Hope would loudly mention a personal wish. Ever since he left behind his post-traumatic shock, he was much more straightforward and dry in some things than before, but not that much until then. Prior to that moment, in order to guess what Hope wanted, they had to wade through a sea of cryptic comments and body language.

"If it's not too much trouble, of course", the angel suddenly added, almost cautiously, and Lightning realized she had been so stunned and silent that Hope probably thought she had taken his request the wrong way.

"Dummy head", she grumbled, a bit flustered, and lay down on the grass. "Did I ever say there was any trouble? I've suggested it myself. Stop making stupid guesses and go to sleep, tomorrow we have a long road ahead. And yeah, I'll tell you things about Nova Chrysalia's history, if I haven't been clear enough for you."

Hope shortly nodded before he lay down as well by the fire. To the other side, Noel snored, and Lightning considered for a long moment to cast on him a Silence spell, but she finally restrained herself. _"If the protective spells fail, maybe his snoring could be of some use and scare the monsters away."_

* * *

"Watch out! Move!", Noel cried a second before a massive, greenish arm hit the ground where Lightning had been standing. She jumped and rolled to the side, dodging the attack, and pointed _Lumen_ , her electric crystal sword, to the creature they had the misfortune to encounter.

After two more days walking through the Eremite Plains, they finally spotted on the horizon the remains of a wrecked airship on a hill. That, according to what Lightning told Hope when the angel asked her, was Sazh and his family's home. It had taken them nearly a week to reach their destination, and that had made Hope realize the vast expanse of the Wildlands. It was hard to believe all that territory still resisted the Order's influence, but after all it was the land that l'Cie had chosen to be their haven. _"It is even more surprising that the Order still tries to conquer a place where the Eternals have so much power"_ , Hope thought. _"It would be suicide. No human could ever defeat a l'Cie, let alone dozens of them."_

But that afternoon, when the sun was already setting, a sudden Cosmic Chaos infusion that had appeared somewhere nearby and its influence covered the area where they were. It did not take long for a Cosmic Chaos-infused monster to emerge with clearly murderous intent, and it had not been any other than a chocobo eater, a huge beast with deadly strength and voracious hunger. And, as it was logical, three small humans –even if they actually were two l'Cie and an angel– were rather tasty.

Lightning hated chocobo eaters. With all her passion. Not only they were the deadliest creatures in the Wildlands, but her aversion to them was personal too. Even experienced hunters had to be extremely careful when they faced those beasts, and for someone who was not a l'Cie, fighting one amidst a Cosmic Chaos infusion was a direct ticket to the grave, or rather, its stomach.

By her side, Hope swiftly dodged a bite of the chocobo eater. He seemed to be assessing the situation, because so far he had limited himself to casting a couple of defensive spells when she and Noel had been in serious trouble. But the truth was that Lightning could not blame him for not yet deciding to use his power: she had seen what he was capable of, and she also knew Hope was still afraid of losing control. To him, it was much safer to simply support them with his magic.

Noel jumped towards the chocobo eater rising his twin katanas, one wreathed in flames and the other in swirling water. With them he slashed the hard skin of the beast, but he knew that would not do much: chocobo eaters had amazing physical resistance, so those who could not use magic had no chance at all. The problem was, neither he nor Lightning were expert mages beyond their l'Cie condition, and Hope was not sure about using offensive spells. Lightning cursed their bad luck; that battle could only be won by attrition, as things were. And an attrition battle against a Cosmic Chaos-infused chocobo eater was a very dangerous thing.

In that moment, the chocobo eater threw a punch toward Hope. The angel jumped to the side, similar to what Lightning had done before, but then he winced in pain when he was about to stand up. _"His back"_ , the young woman guessed when she saw him gritting his teeth, and she could not help but close his fist angrily around _Lumen_ 's hilt. Definitely, no matter the good pace of his improvement, he was not completely recovered, not at all. She wanted to rush to his side to help him, but the chocobo eater was faster, and the next moment the mouth full of teeth the monster had in its belly hovered over Hope, whose reflexes were too slow to dodge what was coming for him.

"Hope!", she called out, extending her hand towards him in a vain attempt to reach him. Suddenly there was a flash of green light, and the chocobo eater found an energy barrier between it and its prey, giving off sparks each time it tried to get through. Even lying on the ground, Hope had managed to cast a Protect spell at the very last second, so much that apparently the beast's jaws touched him because his left hand, the one he raised to cast the spell, was bleeding.

"Come on!", Noel made Lightning react with those words, and without losing a second he jumped on the chocobo eater's back with his katanas in hand. He delivered several slashes before dodging the angry creature's punch, and as he did he cast an Aerora spell on it, which seemed to stun it for a moment. That was Lightning's turn, and she cast a rapid succession of Thunder spells that hit the chocobo eater; she would have cast a more powerful one like Thundaga, but Hope was too close to the beast and the Protect barrier, even though it protected him from physical blows, it did not repel magic. Taking advantage of the stunned chocobo eater, Hope managed to overcome the sheer strength of its jaws against his Protect and he blew up the barrier, throwing the monster in the air a few meters away. It soon got up and tried to strike again, but by then the angel had already stood up and had gotten far enough from it.

Apparently, that its prey got away angered the chocobo eater even more, and its attacks became increasingly frantic and violent. Lightning and Noel avoided a few blows that would most certainly be fatal thanks to the timely Protect spells that Hope cast, yet they already had suffered several injuries that even if they were not serious, they did affect their combat capability. The beast looked tired, but because of the Cosmic Chaos' influence, Lightning knew well that it would not prevent it to keep struggling to the end and still be a threat. _"Dammit! You couldn't stay away from us, didn't you!"_ , she furiously thought, casting a Fira spell on the chocobo eater before hardly dodging a punch. A while ago, Noel had tried to cast Haste on them, but that was a spell that required a bit of casting time that the chocobo eater would not grant him. It was fortunate enough that Hope still could cast Protect, and only because his magic power allowed him to cast spells almost instantly. Even the angel looked tense and nervous as the monster gained ground, and that wasn't usual at all coming from him. For a moment, Lightning feared he would lose control as he did in the Dead Dunes.

And then, all of a sudden, they heard a gunshot, and flames burst into the chocobo eater's side. It turned around, caught by surprise just like Lightning, Hope and Noel, but the moment it did, it got another direct shot in the face, followed by a wind stream that made it stagger and lose balance, undoubtedly an Aerora spell just like the one Noel cast before. As the beast tried to get up, an orange light enveloped all three of them, spinning around them like the hands of a clock: the Haste spell that Noel could not cast because the chocobo eater would not let him.

"How's that you've gotten this rusty, kids!", a deep, mature voice said, with a hint of amusement. "Since when chocobo eaters pose so much trouble that you need the help of a geezer like me?"

When Lightning, Hope and Noel looked up, they saw a large, yellow bird with a mischievous spark in its eyes, a single chestnut-colored feather sprouting from its head, standing over the rocks, and mounted on it there was a middle-aged dark-skinned man, who sported a short beard and his afro looked like a nest. He wore rumpled green clothing and a beige scarf around his neck, and in his right hand he held a long, lustrous black revolver with golden decorations. The bird let out a squawk that sounded like a 'kweh!' and jumped down with its powerful legs to where they were.

"If it isn't other than Sazh!", Noel said with a wide relieved smile. "You couldn't have come at a better time!"

Hope slightly raised his eyebrows at hearing the newcomer's name. _"So this is Sazh, the chocobo breeder?"_ His eyes strayed to the yellow bird he was riding. _"Then that must be a chocobo… They're bigger than I imagined they were."_

Lightning also looked relieved by Sazh and his chocobo's timely arrival.

"Better late than never! Come one, let's finish this at once!"

Neither Noel nor Sazh considered necessary for her to say it twice. Still taken off guard by the chocobo breeder's sudden entrance, Hope watched in amazement how the chocobo Sazh was riding tackled the chocobo eater and kicked it with its clawed feet wreathed in whirls of magical wind as he fired his revolver from its back. He started to understand why chocobos were considered that special, and that what Lightning told him about their magic powers were no exaggeration. The bird's attacks seemed to be almost as powerful as a l'Cie's.

Against the combined attacks of Lightning, Noel, Sazh and the chocobo, the chocobo eater was more and more exhausted and cornered, and as it is logical, cornered beasts are the most dangerous. Its punches turned brutal and unpredictable, and Cosmic Chaos made it even harder to kill. _"Die already, you wretched bastard!"_ , Lightning thought angrily as she slashed the chocobo eater's rough and bleeding skin with _Lumen_ 's electrified edge. But her impatient fury clouded her senses and reflexes for a moment, long enough for the beast to strike her with a glancing blow from its fist, knocking her to the ground with a gasp of pain; even an indirect hit like that, coming from a Cosmic Chaos-influenced chocobo eater, was quite dangerous and able to incapacitate anyone. She tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her hip did not let her, and the chocobo eater took the chance to pounce on her with its belly jaws wide open, its countless teeth irrevocably hovering over her. Well aware that she had no time to protect herself nor escape, Lightning instinctively closed her eyes, curling up and preparing for the end.

But the death bite never came. Instead, she heard a loud blast, an agonizing roar and a sudden slap of heat on her face. She ventured to open her eyes, and she could see the remains of a flame burst between her and the chocobo eater, now face up several meters away, its belly severely charred and clearly dead. Noel, Sazh and the chocobo alternately stared at the beast and at something behind her, looking astonished, and Lightning dared to turn around.

What she saw was Hope, holding the curved weapon he summoned out of thin air in the Dead Dunes, one arm outstretched and the other tensing the energy bowstring that at the time was bright red and gave off little dancing flames. For a second, Lightning's heart was filled with fear when her eyes noticed that golden double-edged blade, realizing the angel had, once again, taken away a life with it, even if it was the life of a monster who was about to kill her. The last and only time he had done that, the consequences were terrible for him. And it had not been that long since Hope got out from that pit of darkness in which he had been trapped for weeks and nearly crushed his sanity.

However, Hope did not seem to react to a death caused by his hand beyond frowning deeper than usual, and with a dry motion of his arm he made his double-edged bow vanish in myriads of golden particles before rushing to Lightning's side, who stared at him as if he were a ticking time-bomb about to explode.

"Are you alright?", the angel asked her, kneeling beside her. Hearing his voice was what made her snap out of her expectant state, as if she were waiting for his emotional collapse at any time. More than anything, because Hope's voice, if drier than his default tone, remained calm and quiet.

"Yeah… I –I'm fine", Lightning managed to stutter, but Hope had already found the point of her hip in which the chocobo eater hit her before she could say anything; he made a swift motion with his hand over it, which briefly gave off a blue glow, and the pain disappeared immediately. _"Not even Serah can heal wounds with such ease"_ , the young woman thought as she recognize it as a Cure spell, and an exceptionally powerful one.

The angel helped her to get up without a word, but he did it gently. It was obvious that he did not like at all having to kill the chocobo eater himself, but the truth was he did not hesitate a single second to do so when he saw her in imminent danger. Just like in the Dead Dunes, only that this time Hope had not done so in a burst of anger and violence, but he remained calm and impassive, and fired the magic arrow coldly and accurately. Lightning recalled what he said when he told her he was ready to go with her to the Wildlands: that if he had to get his hands bloody again to save her life or her sister's, he would do it without hesitation. And so he did.

"Hey!", Noel cried then, going to them with worry on his face. "Is everything alright, Lightning?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry. It's been close, but everything's fine now."

"Sure thing it's been close! What Hope did was awesome!", the hunter said, staring all amazed at Hope. The angel ruffled his nose, clearly showing he did not quite agree, and Lightning could easily guess why: one thing was having to take a life to save another, but she doubted Hope considered such thing as 'awesome'. "He hit the chocobo eater right in its belly! That was an incredible shot!"

Lightning simply nodded, still pale and shocked by having seen death so up close; it was not the first time, of course, but that had been the first one she could have not done anything about it if not for Hope's intervention. He saved her life, almost nonchalantly. _"Once again. I already owe him my life a few times now. Who would've imagined that…"_

"At least we're not regretting any major damage", Sazh noted, who had dismounted and came to them with his chocobo by his side. "Lightning, you silly lass, how come you've taken such risks against that godforsaken beast? You well know how dangerous they are!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just been… acting out of instinct, nothing more. I don't like chocobo eaters, you know."

Sazh sighed, just like a father who was scolding his daughter for being careless. Then he glanced toward Hope, who was still holding the young woman in his arms, even though she need it no longer. When she caught Sazh's gaze, Lightning became aware that Hope still had not pulled away, so she impulsively stepped back. The angel turned his head and stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, but he said nothing and he looked at Sazh in the eye.

"And I don't know you, lad", the chocobo breeder said, looking at him with interest. "But judging from what I see, you're not a common l'Cie, huh? Unless the scar and ears are the new trends in the big city."

Despite himself, Hope brought a hand to one of his pointed ears, slightly brushing it, but he realized Sazh had quickly noticed those details that betrayed his non-human condition, not even l'Cie. He did not know what to say, but luckily for him, Lightning took the wheel.

"This is Hope, Sazh. Perhaps Fang has already told you about him, you know. The key to the Heart of Bhunivelze."

"Ah!, I see", Sazh studied the angel more closely. "Yeah, Fang told me about you, but it's better we discuss the intricacies of the issue well away from prying ears. But it's a pleasure to meet you, Hope. As I suppose these two had already told you, the name's Sazh Katzroy, and I breed chocobos for all people in the Wildlands… plus some small extra jobs", he added, kindly winking to them.

Hope was about to greet him back, but in that moment the chocobo let out a rather irritated 'kweh, kweh!' and pushed Sazh away, and it looked at the angel up and down with its big, brown eyes.

"Alright, alright!", Sazh protested, rubbing the spot where the bird hit him with its beak, even though he was smiling. "I wasn't forgetting about you, woman, even if you won't believe me! But since you're here, how about you introduce yourself?"

Lightning and Noel smiled as well, amused by the scene, but Hope didn't quite understand how the chocobo, who seemed to be a female, would introduce itself. However, his non-spoken question was unexpectedly answered when, all of a sudden, the bird gave off a deep reddish light that enveloped it completely, nearly blinding him. Then, the chocobo's figure quickly and steadily changed in the light: its feathers disappeared, its torso narrowed and lengthened and its head became beakless and smaller, and its tail vanished. And when the glow dimmed away the angel, amazed, was looking at a young woman with brown hair and eyes, dressed in light green and white clothing with quite long, feathered sleeves that covered her hands, and she wore a cap topped with a red feather. Her pants looked very tight and her shoes looked like bird feet… until Hope realized they were not pants nor shoes, but her very own legs were those of a chocobo. _"What kind of magic is this?"_ , he thought, stunned, stepping back instinctively.

But that strange woman merrily laughed at Hope's apprehension, as Sazh and Noel did as well. Lightning, though, put reassuringly a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep herself from laughing too.

"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you're scared of me!", the woman's voice was almost like a trill, so singsong and high-pitched that Hope's sensitive hearing found it uncomfortable at first. "I thought your kind was, don't know, more stoic than you are! It's okay, it's not like I'm gonna peck you or anything like that!"

"I'm sorry", Hope muttered, still watching her cautiously. "It is the first time I see an animal transforming into a human."

She gave him a radiant smile, showing her perfect white teeth.

"Then now you've seen it! Don't sweat it, there's a first time for everything! My name's Chocolina", she said rising a hand covered by her feathered sleeve to her chest, "but you may call me Lina! I'm Sazh's life partner, and as you can see, I'm an Animist!"

"An Animist?", Hope tilted his head and slightly frowned.

"It's one of the gifts l'Cie are sometimes born with", Lightning explained him, "just like Serah and her Seeress powers. Animists are l'Cie that can transform into animals at will, and in Chocolina's case, as her tribal name says, she's a chocobo."

"That's right", Sazh confirmed, putting an arm around Chocolina's waist fondly, and she smiled. "Well, if we're done with the introduction, then how about we going, kids? You sure will enjoy sleeping tonight under a roof. And if I'm not mistaken, we've got several things to talk about before you go on with your little journey."

Lightning and Noel nodded in agreement. Hope followed the l'Cie group towards the downed airship in the horizon that was Sazh's home, musing to himself about all the new findings that he was doing. He imagined the Wildlands kept many secrets waiting to be revealed, and that was certainly one of them. Who would have thought that among l'Cie there were ones that could shapeshift at will? _"How many mysteries surround the Eternals and the gifts fal'Cie granted them? How far does their magic potential goes?"_ , the young angel asked himself, and it was a question that made him feel a strange shiver. For some reason, perhaps deep down he did not want to know.

* * *

Several hours later, late at night, Lightning, Sazh and Noel were sitting around a table in comfy armchairs. It had been a while since they had dinner, a tasty behemoth and tantal greens stew Chocolina cooked with all her kindness and radiant willfulness. Dajh, the son of Sazh and his first partner, was playing on the floor with a toy airship; Lightning and Noel already knew him, and the kid was very happy to see them again, but he had been uneasy around Hope. To the angel, it was the first time he interacted with a human child, and he did not know what to think of Dajh's fearful behavior towards him. _"The mighty angel of Bhunivelze, worried because a kid might not like him"_ , Lightning thought, smiling to herself. Despite how inexpressive was Hope, she read insecurity in his eyes when, when he motioned toward Dajh, the boy ran to hide behind his father's legs, and he turned his head to her as if to ask what he was doing wrong. Then, throughout dinner, it became obvious enough that Hope spent all the time trying to make Dajh not afraid of him and he did not know how, since all he had done was side-glancing him every now and then. Lightning, who was well aware that the angel was like an overgrown kid, found it endearing: just like two children that are too shy to talk to each other, even if they wanted to be friends.

 _"Yet Dajh has reasons to be wary of strangers"_ , the woman thought. Because it was something Sazh had instilled in him for a very long time. The Katzroy family was anything but normal, even by the standards of a l'Cie family: Chocolina was an Animist, a very rare gift among Eternals; Sazh's brand awoke when he was a middle-age man, which made him one of the few l'Cie whose physical appearance was that of a mature adult rather than a teen or a young adult; in Dajh's case, it had been the complete opposite, as his brand awoke when the boy was only six, stopping his aging at such a young age. Those l'Cie fated to remain as children for eternity were known as Enfants, and even if their future did sound unflattering, truth was Enfants never lost their childhood innocence. They were highly treasured by l'Cie communities, who considered them a gift to relieve the cynicism and ennui that eternal life, both blessing and curse, brought to them.

Although the Order of Salvation could not care less about what Enfants meant for l'Cie, they certainly would show special interest in taking Dajh if they knew of his gift, in the same way they once abducted Serah and forced her to use hers for their own purposes. But in Dajh's case, it would be infinitely more dangerous for them. Because that kid had the ability to recognize l'Cie and all magic that came from them. And the Order had its own methods for detecting l'Cie, yes, but it was based on the simple concept of quantifying the magic level in people's auras, and that was not exactly reliable. In their hands, Dajh would be the perfect l'Cie detector, so Sazh had devoted his life to protect his child from any harm. And of course, he also helped him identify the new Vermilion Dawn members who came to his door.

"Now let's see", Sazh said then, pulling Lightning out of her thoughts, "Fang told me you had something for me, kiddos. What's all that about?"

It was Noel who rummaged through the pockets of his baggy pants until he pulled out the sealed roll of parchment that the Vermilion Dawn's leader gave him. Barely concealing his pride, the young man gave it to Sazh.

"There you go. In one piece and unread, as the Captain commanded."

Sazh briefly raised his eyebrows as he ripped off the seal, undoubtedly surprised at Fang's unusual request. No wonder why, because despite the caution that was the dragoon's trademark, she usually shared her plans with her trusted agents, and Lightning and Noel were certainly part of that group. The contents of that letter had to be of utmost secrecy.

For long minutes, Sazh read the message very carefully as Lightning and Noel impatiently waited for him to finish, partly wanting him to tell them something about it. She glanced at one of the wrecked airship's windows: Hope had gone outside a while ago because upon learning she was the first chocobo he had seen up close, Chocolina considered it unacceptable and she led him to the stables for him to see all the birds she and Sazh raised in that remote spot of the Wildlands.

Finally, with a deep sigh, Sazh rolled up the letter, frowning. Lightning did not consider it a good sign. She knew the chocobo breeder was a cheerful and optimistic man, and he was not one to look worried.

"It seems our fears weren't as unfounded as we thought", he commented thoughtfully, and he drummed his fingers on the table. "If what Fang has found out is true… hopefully it's just gossip and nonsense, but if it's not, soon the relative peace we've been enjoying these years is gonna run out."

"But what does it say?", Noel demanded, intrigued. Lightning wanted to know as well, but she had the impression that Sazh would not say anything, probably because Fang told him in the message not to do so. She knew her well, and she also knew Sazh enough to know the chocobo breeder loved to share news with others.

"I can't tell you that, even if I really want to", Sazh replied, confirming her guesses. "Boss' commands. But I think I can share some info… See, the Order has lately increased its presence in the Wildlands and causing lots of trouble we didn't expect. And I don't mean isolated problems: they've been attacking small villages and they've been moving closer to larger towns. The other day, the Jagd hunters and the Nightblades had a very hard time driving away a group of Secutors who tried to attack Aryas Village."

Noel jumped up as if he had been bitten.

"You mean the Order is openly attacking the Wildlands? But they had never before dared to venture far beyond the borders! What about the l'Cie who are supposed to protect the area?"

"That's what many of us would wanna know. But from what Fang tells me, I'm starting to get why they're becoming this bold", Sazh frowned. "And that's no good news. Besides, they're resorting to guerrilla tactics, and that makes them harder to spot for our patrols. All this doesn't sound good for us at all, kids."

"We can't allow them to run freely around the Wildlands!", Lightning was outraged, clenching her fists. "If they keep that up, they could even endanger Poltae! If they're really causing trouble to us l'Cie, how's possible that Fang hasn't called everyone up to arms? I won't allow it, even if I must kill them all myself and–!"

"Calm down, now", Sazh cut her rising his hands. "You young ones always think you can do everything alone. It may sound harsh, but I think that's what thousands of years ago doomed the king you admire so much." Lightning shot him a withering glare, but he was not even fazed by it. "Look, I know you've got good intentions and indeed your help would be quite valuable, but Fang hasn't sent you here to exchange blows with the Order. That's the hunters and the Nightblades' job, so you focus on doing what the boss commanded you to do."

"I should be fighting alongside them", Noel muttered, his head down, his fists clenched and his knuckles white in tension. "Fighting and protecting the Wildlands."

"You should go with Lightning and the angel lad to Poltae as you've been ordered to do. Stop punching yourself with stupid thoughts, you're not the only one who can defend this land."

Even though Sazh was right, Noel was not convinced at all. Lightning was aware the young man felt responsible and partly guilty, but she could not tell him anything she had not already done. And the thing was, despite his humble work as innkeeper in _The Farseer's Rest_ inside the Vermilion Dawn, he had a higher rank in the Wildlands' society. Or at least he had before joining Fang's rebel group.

That was when, suddenly, Dajh, Sazh's son, went to his father with the toy airship in his hands. On the back of his left hand there was a white brand, different in shape from those the present l'Cie sported: Dajh was a l'Cie from the House of Lindzei, unlike them who were from the House of Pulse. There were no major differences, but for some reason l'Cie from House of Lindzei were not as common.

"Daddy, is the angel lad one of the good guys?", he asked, with the childlike innocence his many years of life could not take from him. The question brought a smile to everyone; since Hope was a new face to him, Dajh did not know how to take his presence in the household.

"Well that's a hard question", Sazh replied pulling up the boy to his lap. "Let's see, is he a good angel or a bad one? What do you think, Lightning?"

 _"Why is it me you're asking?"_ , she thought, taken aback. But she was starting to get used to the idea that everything about Hope was also related to her in the eyes of others. Not surprisingly, though, given that she was the one who supposedly had to return the glory to her people with the angel's guidance.

"You don't have to be scared of him, Dajh", the young woman told him with a small smile. "He wouldn't hurt anyone if it was his choice. Even if he's not a l'Cie, you have nothing to fear."

Dajh stared at her with wide eyes.

"I thought angels had wings. The angel lad hasn't got them. Why he doesn't have wings?"

Lightning hesitated. To be honest, Hope had never talked much about the true nature of the loss of his wings. He mentioned that the Ark ripped them off when he disobeyed Bhunivelze's command, but that was it. And indeed, Hope could not lie, so that had to be true… but to what extent, she wondered. She had already seen by herself the angel knew how to weather the storm by telling only a part of the whole truth, and he was rather good at it.

"An evil god took them off from him", she heard Noel say, and she sighed in relief then the young man lend her a hand by summing up what little they knew, "when he wanted to descend from the heavens to learn about we humans and l'Cie. And now he's going with Lightning to help us all and kick the asses of the bad guys who are on that god's side."

"Really?!", Dajh's eyes lit up, fascinated. "It's just… it's weird. He has no wings, and he has strange ears… He doesn't look like a bad guy, but it's just… he makes me nervous."

"Nervous? How come?", his father asked. Dajh shrugged.

"I don't know… It feels like what I feel when you guys are around me, but… it's as if something is wrong inside him. It's a little bit scary…"

Lightning frowned. _"As if something is wrong inside Hope?"_ What did the kid mean with that? His gift allowed him to feel the magic of l'Cie because he sensed it in other people's aura, something that by itself was weird because the angel was not; actually, she assumed Dajh felt uneasy around him because he could not sense the aura of a l'Cie and thought he was one of the people his father warned him so much about. But apparently, what bothered the child was that something was _wrong_ in his aura, whatever it was.

Sazh probably guessed what was going through her head, so he gave her a reassuring smile.

"That's most likely because it's the first time you've met an angel. They're much more powerful than we l'Cie, son. I'm sure that's what you feel around him, but you don't have to be afraid of him. He's only different from us, just that."

Yes, that made sense. Not in vain angels, according to legends, were made by fal'Cie in order to replace l'Cie as their servants, and since l'Cie themselves were born because of a spell of fal'Cie origin, it was logical the magic their auras gave off shared the same footprint. And no wonder an angel's power level might have scared a poor kid used to sense l'Cie magic, which was below angels'. But still… Lightning could not help but worry about Dajh's comment that something 'was wrong' inside Hope. Especially since, not so long ago, she found out he was unable to channel and express his own emotions, and that certainly fell within the category of 'wrong'.

While Noel, Sazh and Dajh quickly forgot about the topic and started chatting around the table, Lightning found herself looking at the window, toward the stables, where Hope and Chocolina had gone to see the chocobos. She got the eerie feeling that the discovery she made weeks ago about the young angel's limitations was merely the tip of the iceberg. And she feared that, if she found out, the conclusions would not be precisely pleasant.

_"What is what Hope truly hides? Which is that terrible secret that makes something be wrong within him?"_


End file.
